Comparing two 1/350 scale USS Enterprises

Like many fans, Gene Roddenberry thought the ship was a lot bigger than it was. In one of his writer's guides or promotional brochures, he hyped the Hangar Deck as being able to hold a dozen modern airliners (if I recall). He called the Enterprise a "city in space." So apparently he hadn't really studied MJ's scale drawings. The mindset was that the Enterprise was huge, so of course the interiors are roomy, and that's all you need to know.

Even so, Star Trek's architecture and scaling hold together better than a lot of sci-fi shows.

 

Well, at the end of the day it's a TV show and aesthetics always will always come before functionality.

Even if we put that aside, MJ's original plans were made before much of what Star Trek became had been fleshed out. Sticking to the original 100 man Enterprise (or was it Yorktown?), with no room for a hangar bay, no transporters, and cramped compartments would have severely restricted what the writers, directors and actors could do, and perhaps even stifled the show's eventual success. I'd rather they built the ship around the show they wanted to make, not the other way around.

 

Well said and agreed.

Uhura might have had her own quarters because of position, not rank. Same for Garrovick.

 

While not canon, I did count all the beds and work stations on Franz Joseph's blueprints. There was enough room for 430 people to work and sleep plus a few guest quarters.