INDUSTRIAL PLANNING AT TRAFFORD PARK
The term ‘‘town planning’’ is not yet synonymous
with “civic design, ” for it is still mainly concerned with the convenient arrangement of traffic roads and the allocation of special sites for special types of building. Town planners for the most part are not yet deeply interested in the æsthetic aspect of urban development, except in so far as this is concerned with buildings of the traditional kind which have always come under the heading of “architecture. ” One reason for this omission is the extreme difficulty of achieving any formal pattern in the disposition of those structures which have hitherto not been counted as architecture proper; the multifarious buildings, for instance, which serve industrial purposes are habitually regarded as being so completely outside the pale of art that town planners have believed themselves to be serving the æsthetic ideal in attempting to segregate all the industrial buildings in “factory zones. ” Even apart from the fact that certain fac
tories are objectionable on account of the noise or odour caused by particular industrial processes, modern factory buildings are generally expected to be so ugly as to appear as unwelcome intruders in the built-up areas of our towns and in residential areas in particular. This policy of segregating the factories is, of course, the easiest way out of the difficulty, and it has much to commend it both on utilitarian and artistic grounds. In a factory zone it is possible to provide for excellent traffic facilities, and, in fact, all the services necessary for modern industry can be far more conveniently and economically secured than is possible when factories are in isolated positions in the built-up quarters of a town. Moreover, as far as the æsthetic problem is concerned (and architects are in honour bound to consider this problem wherever it arises) it may well be imagined that whereas industrial buildings cannot easily be made to harmonise with ordinary urban architecture comprising streets of shops, offices or houses, they might with a little MANCHESTER CORPORATION SUPER ELECTRICITY STATION, BARTON.
Messrs. C. S. Allott & Son, Architects. MESSRS. Rd. JOHNSON, CLAPHAM & MORRIS, LTD.
Arthur Clayton, L. R. I. B. A., Architect.
MESSRS. INGERSOL RAND’S FACTORY.
The term ‘‘town planning’’ is not yet synonymous
with “civic design, ” for it is still mainly concerned with the convenient arrangement of traffic roads and the allocation of special sites for special types of building. Town planners for the most part are not yet deeply interested in the æsthetic aspect of urban development, except in so far as this is concerned with buildings of the traditional kind which have always come under the heading of “architecture. ” One reason for this omission is the extreme difficulty of achieving any formal pattern in the disposition of those structures which have hitherto not been counted as architecture proper; the multifarious buildings, for instance, which serve industrial purposes are habitually regarded as being so completely outside the pale of art that town planners have believed themselves to be serving the æsthetic ideal in attempting to segregate all the industrial buildings in “factory zones. ” Even apart from the fact that certain fac
tories are objectionable on account of the noise or odour caused by particular industrial processes, modern factory buildings are generally expected to be so ugly as to appear as unwelcome intruders in the built-up areas of our towns and in residential areas in particular. This policy of segregating the factories is, of course, the easiest way out of the difficulty, and it has much to commend it both on utilitarian and artistic grounds. In a factory zone it is possible to provide for excellent traffic facilities, and, in fact, all the services necessary for modern industry can be far more conveniently and economically secured than is possible when factories are in isolated positions in the built-up quarters of a town. Moreover, as far as the æsthetic problem is concerned (and architects are in honour bound to consider this problem wherever it arises) it may well be imagined that whereas industrial buildings cannot easily be made to harmonise with ordinary urban architecture comprising streets of shops, offices or houses, they might with a little MANCHESTER CORPORATION SUPER ELECTRICITY STATION, BARTON.
Messrs. C. S. Allott & Son, Architects. MESSRS. Rd. JOHNSON, CLAPHAM & MORRIS, LTD.
Arthur Clayton, L. R. I. B. A., Architect.
MESSRS. INGERSOL RAND’S FACTORY.