THE ARCHITECTURE CLUB
THE MODERN NOTE IN HOUSE DECORATION.
The Architecture Club were the guests of Sir William Beveridge on Thursday evening, October 17, at the School of Economy, in Houghton-street, W.C., at a supper discussion. Sir William Beveridge, in welcoming the guests., said he was pleased to afford the members of the Architecture Club the opportunity of meeting in the school. At his invitation a visit was paid to the founders room, of which general admiration was expressed. Sir Lawrence Weaver, m thanking Sir William for affording them the privilege of visiting the school, said he proposed to take the unusual procedure of electing him a member of the Architecture Club at once, without going through the usual formalities. Sir Lawrence’s proposal was carried with enthusiasm. The supper having been held in the refectory, members proceeded to the lecture hall, where Mr. Grey Wornum opened a discussion on “ The Modern Note in House Decoration.”
The lecturer showed a number of lantern slides of interiors, mainly by present-day architects, and passed a running commentary upon them. His first slide showed a typical Victorian bedroom as may be seen in any part of England to-day, and the second a bedroom of to-day, designed by Le Corbusier, and built at Stuttgart. It was very obvious, said the lecturer, that some great change had taken place in the tastes of Europeans. This house had already got “ boney ” relatives in most parts of Europe, and could in no way be confined to a freak room; nor was it novel, as first impression would suggest. Commenting on a modern room from Japan, built in the traditional style, mostly of wood and paper, the lecturer noted the absence of any attempt to coax the European electric fitting into the scheme, and also the simple straight lines that made up the composition and the carefully displayed household goods, dictated by religious observance, and punctually changed each day of the month. Le Corbusier had captured the lines of this room, but he had disdained the notes of human interest based on age-old tradition. There was a great desire for sensation among the people of today; life was more rapid, more wearing. Another factor was less encumbrance of possessions, and living in fiats or houses which might be regarded as temporary houses. This short-lived building and decoration of to-day was therefore calling for more of the dressmaker’s art than the joiner’s or mason’s craft, and very pronounced fashions in decoration were asserting themselves almost from season to season. With simple plain surfaces to play with, change of colour and texture were so easily effected on walls, floors and ceilings, and the architects function was rapidly limiting itself to erecting the stage, and “ props ’’ and scenery were being taken out of his hands. The “props,” however, tended towards specialisation, and the enormous building work that was and would be necessary to improve our cities and country-side should compensate architects for the loss of much entertaining decorative work in the home. Among what he might call the “props” which architects might handle without the dressmaker’s interference, were metal grilles. The scope in metal work to-day was immense; not on account of the metal, but on account of the plate glass which could support it—so leaving the smith free to indulge his fancy to any extent.
He now came to another aspect of modern decoration, that in which the art of the painter was involved. He felt that a revolution had taken place in our methods of expression—and that this revolution was comparatively recent. It amounted to this, that to-day when we emphasised, we did it by means of large plain surfaces, and not by elaborating with ornaments, and this change was very drastic. How was one to name or define the style of to-day? When it came to spending money on a room for a wealthy
man, he would rarely entertain a style without a sufficiently respectable label to it. A stigma attached itself to architects to-day in the eyes of many people if they failed to fill a definition of style or period.
The bulk of these slides that he had shown were categorically modern, but they, most of them, had an English stamp, except for jtheir foreign inspiration in most cases. And the reason was that we were persistently conservative at heart, and could not entirely throw off our tradition. And this was something on which we could congratulate ourselves. The English architect was armed against many perils to which other countrymen might fall. His wonderful ability to compromise better fitted him to effect a balance between old tradition and modern necessities than any other national could achieve.
Sir Lawrence Weaver proposed a vote of thanks to the lecturer, and called on members present to express their views on the
paper and the slides. Among those who took part in the discussion were : Mr. Clough William Ellis, Mr. Stanley Hamp, Mr. Oswald Milne, Mr. John Gloag, Mr. Paul Phipps, Mr. Austen Hall, Mr. Edward Maufe, Mrs. Wornum, Mr. F. R. Yerbury, and others. At the conclusion Sir Lawrence Weaver proposed a vote of thanks to the lecturer, which was carried with acclamation.
ST. EDMUND KINGAND MARTYR, LOMBARD ST.
At a Consistory Court held at St. Paul’s Cathedral on Saturday last, Mr. F. H. L. Errington, Chancellor of the Diocese of London, heard the petition of the rector and churchwardens of the united parishes of St. Edmund the King and Martyr and St. Nicholas Aeons, Lombard-street, for the grant of a faculty approving of the terms of a provisional agreement with Barclays Bank Limited, for an exchange of strips of land for widening and straightening a passage between the church and the adjacent premises of the bank, which it is intended to reconstruct. The agreement also provided for certain repairs to the east façade of the church at the expense of Barclays Bank, which agreed to pay £12,500 in compensation. The plans had been approved by the City Corporation, the London County Council, the Parochial Church Council, and the vestry meeting.
Mr. W. D. Caroe, architect to the Ecclesiastical Commissioners, said he considered that the eastern façade of the church, which was in brick and stucco, was unsightly. It would be replaced by Portland stone. He thought Wren intended it to be built against, and that was why there were blank places for windows. Wren originally designed a small dome on the church. About 1846, for some reason or other, that dome was taken away, and the ceiling of the church was carried through, making the church very dark. When, during the War, the bomb dropped, he (Mr. Carôe), having charge of the restorations, replaced the dome in its original shape. The Grinling Gibbons carvings were very good examples. Two pieces of woodwork in the roof had been affected by beetle. Mr. Errington allowed the petition for the faculty, but the question of the allocation of the £12,500 was deferred for consideration on application in chambers.
MEETINGS
Fridays, October 2S-N ovember 1.
London Association of Master Decorators. Exhibition of Work of Craftsmen and Apprentices. At the Northern Polytechnic, N.7. 10 a.m. to 8 p.m.
Monday, October 28.
Architectural Association. Mr. F. Winton Newman on “ Things in General, and the A.A. in Particular.” 7 p.m.
Institution of Electrical Engineers. Discussion on “ Systematic Research by Industrial Undertakings.” 7 p.m.
Tuesday, October 29.
League of Arts. Dr. Dearmer on “ Byzantine and Byzantine Art : Painting in Mosaic and Fresco, Fifth to Ninth Centuries.”
Wednesday, October 30.
L.C.C. Central School of Arts and Crafts. Sir Banister Fletcher, P.R.I.B.A., on “ W. Asiatic Architecture (4,000-333 B.c.) ; Influences. Architectural character. Temples, Palaces and Tombs.” 6 p.m.
Thursday, October 31.
Institute of Arbitrators Incorporated. Capt. W. T. Creswell on “ Procedure and Evidence in Arbitration.” 4 p.m.
Auctioneers and Estate Agents Institute. Mr. F. Hunt on “ Compensation for Wayleaves under Electricity Acts.” 7.30 p.m.
Society of Antiquaries. Mr. Eric Millar on “ The Louterell Psalter, and the Psalter and Hours of John, Duke of Bedford.” 8.30 p.m.
The Junior King’s School, Canterbury : South Entrance Doorway.
(See page 685.)
THE MODERN NOTE IN HOUSE DECORATION.
The Architecture Club were the guests of Sir William Beveridge on Thursday evening, October 17, at the School of Economy, in Houghton-street, W.C., at a supper discussion. Sir William Beveridge, in welcoming the guests., said he was pleased to afford the members of the Architecture Club the opportunity of meeting in the school. At his invitation a visit was paid to the founders room, of which general admiration was expressed. Sir Lawrence Weaver, m thanking Sir William for affording them the privilege of visiting the school, said he proposed to take the unusual procedure of electing him a member of the Architecture Club at once, without going through the usual formalities. Sir Lawrence’s proposal was carried with enthusiasm. The supper having been held in the refectory, members proceeded to the lecture hall, where Mr. Grey Wornum opened a discussion on “ The Modern Note in House Decoration.”
The lecturer showed a number of lantern slides of interiors, mainly by present-day architects, and passed a running commentary upon them. His first slide showed a typical Victorian bedroom as may be seen in any part of England to-day, and the second a bedroom of to-day, designed by Le Corbusier, and built at Stuttgart. It was very obvious, said the lecturer, that some great change had taken place in the tastes of Europeans. This house had already got “ boney ” relatives in most parts of Europe, and could in no way be confined to a freak room; nor was it novel, as first impression would suggest. Commenting on a modern room from Japan, built in the traditional style, mostly of wood and paper, the lecturer noted the absence of any attempt to coax the European electric fitting into the scheme, and also the simple straight lines that made up the composition and the carefully displayed household goods, dictated by religious observance, and punctually changed each day of the month. Le Corbusier had captured the lines of this room, but he had disdained the notes of human interest based on age-old tradition. There was a great desire for sensation among the people of today; life was more rapid, more wearing. Another factor was less encumbrance of possessions, and living in fiats or houses which might be regarded as temporary houses. This short-lived building and decoration of to-day was therefore calling for more of the dressmaker’s art than the joiner’s or mason’s craft, and very pronounced fashions in decoration were asserting themselves almost from season to season. With simple plain surfaces to play with, change of colour and texture were so easily effected on walls, floors and ceilings, and the architects function was rapidly limiting itself to erecting the stage, and “ props ’’ and scenery were being taken out of his hands. The “props,” however, tended towards specialisation, and the enormous building work that was and would be necessary to improve our cities and country-side should compensate architects for the loss of much entertaining decorative work in the home. Among what he might call the “props” which architects might handle without the dressmaker’s interference, were metal grilles. The scope in metal work to-day was immense; not on account of the metal, but on account of the plate glass which could support it—so leaving the smith free to indulge his fancy to any extent.
He now came to another aspect of modern decoration, that in which the art of the painter was involved. He felt that a revolution had taken place in our methods of expression—and that this revolution was comparatively recent. It amounted to this, that to-day when we emphasised, we did it by means of large plain surfaces, and not by elaborating with ornaments, and this change was very drastic. How was one to name or define the style of to-day? When it came to spending money on a room for a wealthy
man, he would rarely entertain a style without a sufficiently respectable label to it. A stigma attached itself to architects to-day in the eyes of many people if they failed to fill a definition of style or period.
The bulk of these slides that he had shown were categorically modern, but they, most of them, had an English stamp, except for jtheir foreign inspiration in most cases. And the reason was that we were persistently conservative at heart, and could not entirely throw off our tradition. And this was something on which we could congratulate ourselves. The English architect was armed against many perils to which other countrymen might fall. His wonderful ability to compromise better fitted him to effect a balance between old tradition and modern necessities than any other national could achieve.
Sir Lawrence Weaver proposed a vote of thanks to the lecturer, and called on members present to express their views on the
paper and the slides. Among those who took part in the discussion were : Mr. Clough William Ellis, Mr. Stanley Hamp, Mr. Oswald Milne, Mr. John Gloag, Mr. Paul Phipps, Mr. Austen Hall, Mr. Edward Maufe, Mrs. Wornum, Mr. F. R. Yerbury, and others. At the conclusion Sir Lawrence Weaver proposed a vote of thanks to the lecturer, which was carried with acclamation.
ST. EDMUND KINGAND MARTYR, LOMBARD ST.
At a Consistory Court held at St. Paul’s Cathedral on Saturday last, Mr. F. H. L. Errington, Chancellor of the Diocese of London, heard the petition of the rector and churchwardens of the united parishes of St. Edmund the King and Martyr and St. Nicholas Aeons, Lombard-street, for the grant of a faculty approving of the terms of a provisional agreement with Barclays Bank Limited, for an exchange of strips of land for widening and straightening a passage between the church and the adjacent premises of the bank, which it is intended to reconstruct. The agreement also provided for certain repairs to the east façade of the church at the expense of Barclays Bank, which agreed to pay £12,500 in compensation. The plans had been approved by the City Corporation, the London County Council, the Parochial Church Council, and the vestry meeting.
Mr. W. D. Caroe, architect to the Ecclesiastical Commissioners, said he considered that the eastern façade of the church, which was in brick and stucco, was unsightly. It would be replaced by Portland stone. He thought Wren intended it to be built against, and that was why there were blank places for windows. Wren originally designed a small dome on the church. About 1846, for some reason or other, that dome was taken away, and the ceiling of the church was carried through, making the church very dark. When, during the War, the bomb dropped, he (Mr. Carôe), having charge of the restorations, replaced the dome in its original shape. The Grinling Gibbons carvings were very good examples. Two pieces of woodwork in the roof had been affected by beetle. Mr. Errington allowed the petition for the faculty, but the question of the allocation of the £12,500 was deferred for consideration on application in chambers.
MEETINGS
Fridays, October 2S-N ovember 1.
London Association of Master Decorators. Exhibition of Work of Craftsmen and Apprentices. At the Northern Polytechnic, N.7. 10 a.m. to 8 p.m.
Monday, October 28.
Architectural Association. Mr. F. Winton Newman on “ Things in General, and the A.A. in Particular.” 7 p.m.
Institution of Electrical Engineers. Discussion on “ Systematic Research by Industrial Undertakings.” 7 p.m.
Tuesday, October 29.
League of Arts. Dr. Dearmer on “ Byzantine and Byzantine Art : Painting in Mosaic and Fresco, Fifth to Ninth Centuries.”
Wednesday, October 30.
L.C.C. Central School of Arts and Crafts. Sir Banister Fletcher, P.R.I.B.A., on “ W. Asiatic Architecture (4,000-333 B.c.) ; Influences. Architectural character. Temples, Palaces and Tombs.” 6 p.m.
Thursday, October 31.
Institute of Arbitrators Incorporated. Capt. W. T. Creswell on “ Procedure and Evidence in Arbitration.” 4 p.m.
Auctioneers and Estate Agents Institute. Mr. F. Hunt on “ Compensation for Wayleaves under Electricity Acts.” 7.30 p.m.
Society of Antiquaries. Mr. Eric Millar on “ The Louterell Psalter, and the Psalter and Hours of John, Duke of Bedford.” 8.30 p.m.
The Junior King’s School, Canterbury : South Entrance Doorway.
(See page 685.)