parative cheapness of transportation before the war, had made it possible for the man who built him a house in Missouri to use the same exterior materials availed of by a man similarly engaged in New England. For this reason much of the ingenuity resulting from an adaptation of local material is missing in this country and a monotony defeating artistic accomplishment is everywhere present.
Many of our young men, before the war engaged in the practice of architecture, will have had unusual
ROOF OF SLATE TILES, HALF TIMBERED, WITH
BRICK HOGGING
(From The Cottage Homes of England)
opportunities to observe while in Europe, and many of them, let us hope, will return to take up the practice of their profession in small communities all over the United States. The lessons they will have learned of the artistic possibilities latent in local material will be many. We shall, therefore, undoubtedly profit architecturally in the development of our small towns, and learn that much of the ready-to-hand material we have heretofore ignored is often better suited to our purpose than that we seek at long distances from home.
It may safely be said that the reason why we in America have not yet reached a nationally characteristic type of architecture is that we have failed to avail ourselves of the things close at hand
IN THE VALLEY OF THE POGLIA, ITALY
(From Smeller Italian Villas and Farmhouses, by Guy Lowell)
in working out the architectural development of our small towns. On the other hand, it may be claimed that the use of standardized material would enable us to achieve this national type more quickly.
It should be borne in mind that, contrasted with the comparatively small area and the certain conditions of climate in European countries, the United States is enormous and experiences within its borders every climate of the earth.
It would not, therefore, be possible to produce a type that would be fitting in every section of the United States under all these varying conditions,
A FARMHOUSE AT CINTOIA, ITALY
(From Smaller Italian Villas and Farmhouses, by Guy Lowell)
but it would be possible to group the country into certain zones or regional areas in each of which the architectural development would be along the lines of an artistic and architectural expression in local materials. This development of regional types would, without doubt, first occur in small communities. The opportunity will therefore fall to the competent architects practicing in small towns to
Many of our young men, before the war engaged in the practice of architecture, will have had unusual
ROOF OF SLATE TILES, HALF TIMBERED, WITH
BRICK HOGGING
(From The Cottage Homes of England)
opportunities to observe while in Europe, and many of them, let us hope, will return to take up the practice of their profession in small communities all over the United States. The lessons they will have learned of the artistic possibilities latent in local material will be many. We shall, therefore, undoubtedly profit architecturally in the development of our small towns, and learn that much of the ready-to-hand material we have heretofore ignored is often better suited to our purpose than that we seek at long distances from home.
It may safely be said that the reason why we in America have not yet reached a nationally characteristic type of architecture is that we have failed to avail ourselves of the things close at hand
IN THE VALLEY OF THE POGLIA, ITALY
(From Smeller Italian Villas and Farmhouses, by Guy Lowell)
in working out the architectural development of our small towns. On the other hand, it may be claimed that the use of standardized material would enable us to achieve this national type more quickly.
It should be borne in mind that, contrasted with the comparatively small area and the certain conditions of climate in European countries, the United States is enormous and experiences within its borders every climate of the earth.
It would not, therefore, be possible to produce a type that would be fitting in every section of the United States under all these varying conditions,
A FARMHOUSE AT CINTOIA, ITALY
(From Smaller Italian Villas and Farmhouses, by Guy Lowell)
but it would be possible to group the country into certain zones or regional areas in each of which the architectural development would be along the lines of an artistic and architectural expression in local materials. This development of regional types would, without doubt, first occur in small communities. The opportunity will therefore fall to the competent architects practicing in small towns to