Vol. CXVIII — 3067
The ARCHITECT & BUILDING NEWS
September 30, 1927
Proprietors: Gilbert Wood & Co., Ltd.
Managing Director: William L. Wood
Editorial, Publishing and Advertisement Offices:
Rolls House, 2 Breams Buildings, London, E. C. 4. Tel.: Holborn 5708 Registered Office: Imperial Buildings, Ludgate Circus, London, E. C. 4
Principal Contents
Notes and Comments......................................... Page 521, 522 Manchester Town Hall Extension: Pinal Competition
Result.............................................................................522 The Lesson of Ostia — I. (Illustrations)...................... 523, 524, 525 The New Year of the Schools...... 526 Public Baths, Woodstock Street, Birmingham (Illus
trations).................................................................. 526, 528, 529
Ramptons State Institution, Notts. (Illustration)........................ 527 Arhitecture of To-day...........................................................530 Entrance Lodge, “Seadbury, ” Sidcup, Kent (Illus
tratiors...................................................................... 530, 531 Book Reviews.............................................................................530
New Flats for Women at Hampstead Garden Suburb
(Illustrations)............................................................ 532, 533 Design for Christian Science Church, Putney (Illus
trations)........................................................................ 534, 535 New Ways and Means (Illustrations).......................................... 536 “Die Bastei” Restaurant, Cologne (Illustrations)
537, 538, 539, 540, 542, 544 London Building Notes............................................................... 546 The Week’s Building News.......................................................... 548 Building Tenders..................................................... 548, 554 Building Contracts Open............................................................. 550 Current Market Prices............................................................ 552, 554 Current Measured Rates....................................................... 556, 558
NOTES AND COMMENTS
“The War Office, in seeking to obtain possession of some of the most beautiful Commons in Surrey, has contrived to raise a hornet’s nest from among them. Although so centrally situated, it is, apparently, terrinly remote from the public opinion that drifts abound its doors; but this is not so inexplicable if, as one of its technical critics asserts, those who frame its decisions are rejoicing that, “now the beastly war is over, we can get back to real soldiering. ” In our issue of August 26 we summarised what is believed to be the Departmental view, that the break-up of the big estates and the sale of manorial rites might make it difficult or impossible in future to obtain permission to manœuvre over the common lands, as in the past. There should surely, however, be some sense of proportion in the requirements of land for manoeuvres of our comparatively small army, a considerable proportion of which is constantly engaged on garrison duties in various parts of the Empire. In the Aldershot, Farnborough, Bordon and Salisbury Plain districts, the War Office has an immense area of land already at its disposal; and for training purposes it is surely unnecessary to turn a considerable part of the Home Counties into a vast military arena, to be rutted and scarred by mechanised units, and to have its trees and verdure removed for hutments and camping grounds. No schedule of the Commons which the War authorities have it in mind to control has yet appeared, but Frensham, Hankley, Elstead, Thursley, Ockley, Royal and Witley are considered to be in danger by local residents. And these local residents include some rather formidable opponents of the proposal, among them Lord Midleton, himself a former Chief of the War Office, and Mr. Lloyd George, a former Prime Minister. Semi-official guarantees and assurances have fallen upon deaf ears. The public has a long memory, and it has not forgotten Lulworth Cove.
The Corporation of the City of London has given formal notice, both to Lloyds Bank and to the Commercial Union Assurance Company, that they hold these firms responsible for all damage that was done and will be done to the thoroughfare of Cornhill through the recent collapse of the Commercial Union building. This was announced by Mr. H. D. Baily, Chairman of the Streets Committee, at the Corporation meeting last week. In the course of his official statement, he said that Lloyds Bank were engaged in a rebuilding scheme and were prepared to take their new building down to a considerable depth. He believed they had gone down to nearly 50 feet below
the surface of the ground. The Commercial Union building did not go down so far and had to be underpinned, and the roadway was kept up by means of timbering. The piers underpinning the Commercial Union building gave way, and part of the building fell, the debris in falling striking against the timbering holding up the side of the road, so that the earth under it also slid into the excavation, although the surface of the roadway and its concrete foundation held up in a remarkable manner. Mr. Baily also stated that Lloyds Bank, in consultation with their experts, had prepared a scheme for the restoration of the roadway, and this scheme had been approved by the City Engineer and by the Streets Committee. The immediate cause of the collapse, as stated in our issue of August 12, is thus confirmed.
Local building by-laws have long been a bugbear to architects, who will, accordingly, be pleased to learn from Mr. Neville Chamberlain’s recent statement that a considerable advance has been made during the past three years in the revision of unnecessarily fettering and restrictive conditions. The motive force in this desirable direction has been the shortage of houses, and the progress made in discovering new materials and methods of construction which, necessarily, were never contemplated when the model code of the Public Health Act was drawn up merely as a useful and suggestive guide to the authorities of urban districts in framing regulations suitable to their respective areas. As a Departmental Committee of the Ministry of Health pointed out, so far back as 1918, “there is no more reason why a person building a palace or a factory should be afflicted by unreasonable by-laws than a person who puts up a workman’s dwelling. ” It is, probably, in the matter of dwellings generally, especially in rural districts, that by-laws have been found most oppressive. The work of bringing by-laws up-to-date has, it is stated, substantially been accomplished. Architects may not approve all the new materials and methods which will probably obtain sanction under the revised code, but they will hardly quarrel with the results of revision. For the more generous discretion allowed should also admit the use of old and tried traditional methods of building formerly debarred by the stringency of regulations framed to outwit the tricks of the ubiquitous jerry builder.
In a few weeks’ time Bath will celebrate the bicentenary of John Wood, the celebrated architect who began his great work of rebuilding and replanning
The ARCHITECT & BUILDING NEWS
September 30, 1927
Proprietors: Gilbert Wood & Co., Ltd.
Managing Director: William L. Wood
Editorial, Publishing and Advertisement Offices:
Rolls House, 2 Breams Buildings, London, E. C. 4. Tel.: Holborn 5708 Registered Office: Imperial Buildings, Ludgate Circus, London, E. C. 4
Principal Contents
Notes and Comments......................................... Page 521, 522 Manchester Town Hall Extension: Pinal Competition
Result.............................................................................522 The Lesson of Ostia — I. (Illustrations)...................... 523, 524, 525 The New Year of the Schools...... 526 Public Baths, Woodstock Street, Birmingham (Illus
trations).................................................................. 526, 528, 529
Ramptons State Institution, Notts. (Illustration)........................ 527 Arhitecture of To-day...........................................................530 Entrance Lodge, “Seadbury, ” Sidcup, Kent (Illus
tratiors...................................................................... 530, 531 Book Reviews.............................................................................530
New Flats for Women at Hampstead Garden Suburb
(Illustrations)............................................................ 532, 533 Design for Christian Science Church, Putney (Illus
trations)........................................................................ 534, 535 New Ways and Means (Illustrations).......................................... 536 “Die Bastei” Restaurant, Cologne (Illustrations)
537, 538, 539, 540, 542, 544 London Building Notes............................................................... 546 The Week’s Building News.......................................................... 548 Building Tenders..................................................... 548, 554 Building Contracts Open............................................................. 550 Current Market Prices............................................................ 552, 554 Current Measured Rates....................................................... 556, 558
NOTES AND COMMENTS
“The War Office, in seeking to obtain possession of some of the most beautiful Commons in Surrey, has contrived to raise a hornet’s nest from among them. Although so centrally situated, it is, apparently, terrinly remote from the public opinion that drifts abound its doors; but this is not so inexplicable if, as one of its technical critics asserts, those who frame its decisions are rejoicing that, “now the beastly war is over, we can get back to real soldiering. ” In our issue of August 26 we summarised what is believed to be the Departmental view, that the break-up of the big estates and the sale of manorial rites might make it difficult or impossible in future to obtain permission to manœuvre over the common lands, as in the past. There should surely, however, be some sense of proportion in the requirements of land for manoeuvres of our comparatively small army, a considerable proportion of which is constantly engaged on garrison duties in various parts of the Empire. In the Aldershot, Farnborough, Bordon and Salisbury Plain districts, the War Office has an immense area of land already at its disposal; and for training purposes it is surely unnecessary to turn a considerable part of the Home Counties into a vast military arena, to be rutted and scarred by mechanised units, and to have its trees and verdure removed for hutments and camping grounds. No schedule of the Commons which the War authorities have it in mind to control has yet appeared, but Frensham, Hankley, Elstead, Thursley, Ockley, Royal and Witley are considered to be in danger by local residents. And these local residents include some rather formidable opponents of the proposal, among them Lord Midleton, himself a former Chief of the War Office, and Mr. Lloyd George, a former Prime Minister. Semi-official guarantees and assurances have fallen upon deaf ears. The public has a long memory, and it has not forgotten Lulworth Cove.
The Corporation of the City of London has given formal notice, both to Lloyds Bank and to the Commercial Union Assurance Company, that they hold these firms responsible for all damage that was done and will be done to the thoroughfare of Cornhill through the recent collapse of the Commercial Union building. This was announced by Mr. H. D. Baily, Chairman of the Streets Committee, at the Corporation meeting last week. In the course of his official statement, he said that Lloyds Bank were engaged in a rebuilding scheme and were prepared to take their new building down to a considerable depth. He believed they had gone down to nearly 50 feet below
the surface of the ground. The Commercial Union building did not go down so far and had to be underpinned, and the roadway was kept up by means of timbering. The piers underpinning the Commercial Union building gave way, and part of the building fell, the debris in falling striking against the timbering holding up the side of the road, so that the earth under it also slid into the excavation, although the surface of the roadway and its concrete foundation held up in a remarkable manner. Mr. Baily also stated that Lloyds Bank, in consultation with their experts, had prepared a scheme for the restoration of the roadway, and this scheme had been approved by the City Engineer and by the Streets Committee. The immediate cause of the collapse, as stated in our issue of August 12, is thus confirmed.
Local building by-laws have long been a bugbear to architects, who will, accordingly, be pleased to learn from Mr. Neville Chamberlain’s recent statement that a considerable advance has been made during the past three years in the revision of unnecessarily fettering and restrictive conditions. The motive force in this desirable direction has been the shortage of houses, and the progress made in discovering new materials and methods of construction which, necessarily, were never contemplated when the model code of the Public Health Act was drawn up merely as a useful and suggestive guide to the authorities of urban districts in framing regulations suitable to their respective areas. As a Departmental Committee of the Ministry of Health pointed out, so far back as 1918, “there is no more reason why a person building a palace or a factory should be afflicted by unreasonable by-laws than a person who puts up a workman’s dwelling. ” It is, probably, in the matter of dwellings generally, especially in rural districts, that by-laws have been found most oppressive. The work of bringing by-laws up-to-date has, it is stated, substantially been accomplished. Architects may not approve all the new materials and methods which will probably obtain sanction under the revised code, but they will hardly quarrel with the results of revision. For the more generous discretion allowed should also admit the use of old and tried traditional methods of building formerly debarred by the stringency of regulations framed to outwit the tricks of the ubiquitous jerry builder.
In a few weeks’ time Bath will celebrate the bicentenary of John Wood, the celebrated architect who began his great work of rebuilding and replanning