justment. Canada, England and France have already had to meet a similar question to a greater degree than we have, for there the scarcity of man power affected even the output of munitions of war.
A glance at how they relieved the situation may be enlightening and of service to us.
It would be a source of astonishment to anyone not familiar with what has been done to go through the various plants in all of those countries and see what has been done by women. This is true not alone in the lighter tasks in factories, stores, etc., but in the heavier ones which it would never have been thought possible for them to perform. They have taken the places of the men, and are not only doing the work but are doing it most successfully. What they have done we can do. We none of us realize our powers until we are forced by necessity to exercise them to their fullest extent.
Turning now from the material side of the question to the esthetic, we do not find so bright a prospect. But even here pessimism seems out of place. In the foregoing portion of this article it has been endeavored to show, by indications o f improvement both in price situation and in the possibilities of obtaining materials, that the coming year should bring at least a healthy revival of
construction work and a consequent demand for the services of the architect.
Nor can the period of quiet in the architectural field be looked upon as without any redeeming features. As a nation we have been tending every year to increase our speed at the expense of our judgment, not only in situations where haste was required, but also in matters where that quality was not only unnecessary, but even detrimental. It is axiomatic that haste makes for waste, and this has nowhere been more strongly confirmed than in the line of structural effort. Materials and methods of construction have been selected and projects put through which later have been found to be entirely inefficient. The waste which has arisen in the past decade from ill-conceived projects, poor and wasteful construction and use of materials, if analyzed and put into money value would horrify any rightthinking man. Nowhere has this been more notice
able than in the industrial work of the past year. To be sure there has been some valid excuse for it under the prevailing conditions, but even they cannot wholly bear the blame for the larger part of it. It must be laid at the door of lack of foresight. Apparently very little consideration has been given in most of the industrial work to any future use for the buildings or their economical use in the present. Anything having four walls with openings in them for light and a superimposed roof was thought sufficient. This policy has resulted in many sins both in design and in the arrangement of floor areas which it will take years to obliterate, besides creating an annual increase in overhead charges that will continue until such buildings are superseded by others. This annual cost is pure waste.
As this condition becomes more and more evident, as it certainly will when those who erected these structures have undertaken to do business in them, there is no manner of doubt that they will realize in connection with any future projects that it will mean money in their pockets to secure the services of a man trained in the art of planning, arrangement and design.
It is too early as yet to call attention to the specific modifications for the improvement of the industrial plants already erected, except in a general way, inasmuch as most of them are of such recent date that there has not been time to realize their faultiness completely. This comment applies equally to operatives’ housing. From an architectural viewpoint the glaring faults are to be found in the general air of unattractiveness of the majority of plants and the lack of efficient planning. These faults go much further than mere architectural expression. They have a much greater effect on the aforementioned pocket than would readily be believed. Experience has already demonstrated that attractive surroundings make for more and better work, for a greater stability of employees and less discontent among them. The man who works in an attractive, well-planned shop and lives in a well-arranged house, even though it be of the simplest and most economical materials, develops a sense of better citizenship, for it is not a far step from interest “ WE have hysterical demands for
economy in every line. Some municipalities are stopping road building and other public work. Waste is bad, but indiscriminating economy is worse.”
—Howard E. Coffin.
Paris has not suspended public building operations because of the war. Neither has Berlin. Let there be no havoc in the building trade. To put a ban on legitimate public building projects is to sow disorder and unrest.” —Chicago Tribune.
A glance at how they relieved the situation may be enlightening and of service to us.
It would be a source of astonishment to anyone not familiar with what has been done to go through the various plants in all of those countries and see what has been done by women. This is true not alone in the lighter tasks in factories, stores, etc., but in the heavier ones which it would never have been thought possible for them to perform. They have taken the places of the men, and are not only doing the work but are doing it most successfully. What they have done we can do. We none of us realize our powers until we are forced by necessity to exercise them to their fullest extent.
Turning now from the material side of the question to the esthetic, we do not find so bright a prospect. But even here pessimism seems out of place. In the foregoing portion of this article it has been endeavored to show, by indications o f improvement both in price situation and in the possibilities of obtaining materials, that the coming year should bring at least a healthy revival of
construction work and a consequent demand for the services of the architect.
Nor can the period of quiet in the architectural field be looked upon as without any redeeming features. As a nation we have been tending every year to increase our speed at the expense of our judgment, not only in situations where haste was required, but also in matters where that quality was not only unnecessary, but even detrimental. It is axiomatic that haste makes for waste, and this has nowhere been more strongly confirmed than in the line of structural effort. Materials and methods of construction have been selected and projects put through which later have been found to be entirely inefficient. The waste which has arisen in the past decade from ill-conceived projects, poor and wasteful construction and use of materials, if analyzed and put into money value would horrify any rightthinking man. Nowhere has this been more notice
able than in the industrial work of the past year. To be sure there has been some valid excuse for it under the prevailing conditions, but even they cannot wholly bear the blame for the larger part of it. It must be laid at the door of lack of foresight. Apparently very little consideration has been given in most of the industrial work to any future use for the buildings or their economical use in the present. Anything having four walls with openings in them for light and a superimposed roof was thought sufficient. This policy has resulted in many sins both in design and in the arrangement of floor areas which it will take years to obliterate, besides creating an annual increase in overhead charges that will continue until such buildings are superseded by others. This annual cost is pure waste.
As this condition becomes more and more evident, as it certainly will when those who erected these structures have undertaken to do business in them, there is no manner of doubt that they will realize in connection with any future projects that it will mean money in their pockets to secure the services of a man trained in the art of planning, arrangement and design.
It is too early as yet to call attention to the specific modifications for the improvement of the industrial plants already erected, except in a general way, inasmuch as most of them are of such recent date that there has not been time to realize their faultiness completely. This comment applies equally to operatives’ housing. From an architectural viewpoint the glaring faults are to be found in the general air of unattractiveness of the majority of plants and the lack of efficient planning. These faults go much further than mere architectural expression. They have a much greater effect on the aforementioned pocket than would readily be believed. Experience has already demonstrated that attractive surroundings make for more and better work, for a greater stability of employees and less discontent among them. The man who works in an attractive, well-planned shop and lives in a well-arranged house, even though it be of the simplest and most economical materials, develops a sense of better citizenship, for it is not a far step from interest “ WE have hysterical demands for
economy in every line. Some municipalities are stopping road building and other public work. Waste is bad, but indiscriminating economy is worse.”
—Howard E. Coffin.
Paris has not suspended public building operations because of the war. Neither has Berlin. Let there be no havoc in the building trade. To put a ban on legitimate public building projects is to sow disorder and unrest.” —Chicago Tribune.