Vol. CXVIII — 3066
The ARCHITECT & BUILDING NEWS
September 23, 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 485, 486 The Repair of Rural Cottages — VI............................................. 487 Correspondence............................................................................ 488 Professional Society. ................................................. 488 Competition Notes....................................................................... 488 The New Industrial Continuation School in Vienna
(Illustrations)............................................................ 489-494
Messrs. Lloyds Bank, Ltd. ʼs., Branch Bank, Whet
stone (Illustration)........................................................................ 494 House at Effingham, Surrey (Illustrations)........................................ 495 New Offices for the London Life Association, Ltd.
(Illustration) ............................................................................ 496
Business Premises, Henrietta Street, W. l. (R. A.,
1927) (Illustration)...................................................... 497
The Bath Cinema, Leamington Spa (Illustrations).............. 498-501 The Bournemouth Pavilion (R. A., 1927) (Illustration).............. 500 The Oak Cinema, Selly Oak (Illustrations)....................... 502, 504 London Notes................... ........................................................ 506
Week’s Building News.............................................................. 508 Building Tenders..................................................... 508, 514 Contracts Open ...................................................................... 510 Current Market Prices................................................512, 514 Current Measured Ratos................................................516, 518 Building Wage Grades........................................... 520
NOTES AND COMMENTS
The controversy which has arisen between Sir John Simpson and the R. I. B. A. makes painful reading. That the distinguished architect, as an indignant protest against what he considers to be a personal affront, has severed his connection with a body of which he is a Past-President is much to be deplored; at the present juncture particularly, solidarity in the ranks of the profession is an important matter. One cannot help feeling sympathy with Sir John at the somewhat abrupt termination of his appointment on the Council of the British School at Rome, for although his term of office had expired, and the Council of the Institute were well within their rights in appointing a successor, Sir John s sixteen years’ service in that particular capacity would seem to have demanded rather more tactful recognition than it, apparently, received. The situation that has arisen is too delicate for any intrusion on our part, and the only object of this note is to make a suggestion which would, we think, prevent similar unfortunate occurrences in the future. We suggest that the R. I. B. A. should make a new Rule or By-law, by which the appointment of any member to serve upon an external Committee or Council should be limited to a given term of years. It would apply, of course, to appointments made by the Council, and not to those determined by the direct vote of the members. Under such a rule, any representative of the R. I. B. A. might be re-elected for a second or third term of office, after which he would, perforce, retire. Some such method would prevent any feeling of chagrin or want of appreciation which must inevitably arise when an appointment is terminated after a long term of years. There is a growing feeling in most societies that periodical change and infusion of: new blood in their executives is an advantage. The Architecture Club comes to mind as a body which, under its Rules, has retired several distinguished architects from its Executive Committee; and although there are times when such a provision gives rise to considerable regret, its advantages on the whole outweigh the disadvantages.
Manchester has just been celebrating the Jubilee of its Town Hall, a building that has more than ordinary significance for the northern metropolis. It is one of the most striking examples of the Gothic revival of the last century, and that phase of English architecture was peculiarly bound up with the religious and intellectual aspirations of the citizens of Manchester at the time their civic hall was erected. One might truthfully say that the romanticism which the unlovely developments of industrialism confined
within their breasts became articulate in this creation of Alfred Waterhouse, with its mural paintings by Ford Madox Brown, its magnificent organ, and its clock tower with a carillon of twenty-one bells. Waterhouse took pride in his achievement as an example of the practical adaptability of the style he loved for secular purposes. To him there was no building of utilitarian object that could not be expressed in the Gothic manner. Yet even in the midst of these Jubilee rejoicings there are misgivings. The Manchester Guardian, in a leader — ˮThe Passing of the Gothic’’ — says that the new addition which is to be made, “though linked to it by a bridge, need take no account of the misconceived beauty of its parent building. The chief treasure of the Town Hall, the Ford Madox Brown mural paintings, has suffered, as do the people who work in the building, from the lack of adequate lighting. ” Even these famous paintings, “notable in their kind throughout the world, have never seen light that would do justice to the magnificent colouring their creator lavished on them. ” Indeed, perhaps it is the lack of light that has concealed the growth of such ‘‘an alarming state of decay’’ in the paintings that an inquiry into their
condition has now been ordered. In another passage our distinguished contemporary finds that “the restlessness of outline and excess of ornament that marks the Gothic exterior has proved itself the worst of architectural forms to face the corrosion and soot of our industrial area. The better way is shown in the well-proportioned, plain surfaces of such welcome newcomers in our midst as Ship Canal House and the new buildings that are transforming Cross Street. ” With much of this we must, necessarily, agree. The contentions of the Gothic Revivalists were altogether extravagant; and their work was marked more by adherence to the letter of their chosen style than to its spirit. It has been left for this century and, notably, for Sir Giles Gilbert Scott, to manifest the modern note in Gothic and, in recapturing some of the true spirit of the mediæval work, to demonstrate that Gothic, stripped from the mummy wrappings of religious fanaticism and literary pretension, may become a practical expression for some of the buildings of the modern world.
The decision of the London County Council to embark upon their big slum clearance scheme for the Ossulston Street area, off Euston Road, has evoked a blessing from: Lt. -Comdr. J. M. Kenworthy, M. P., but this is coupled with a very strong demand for the elimination from the new blocks of tenements to be
The ARCHITECT & BUILDING NEWS
September 23, 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 485, 486 The Repair of Rural Cottages — VI............................................. 487 Correspondence............................................................................ 488 Professional Society. ................................................. 488 Competition Notes....................................................................... 488 The New Industrial Continuation School in Vienna
(Illustrations)............................................................ 489-494
Messrs. Lloyds Bank, Ltd. ʼs., Branch Bank, Whet
stone (Illustration)........................................................................ 494 House at Effingham, Surrey (Illustrations)........................................ 495 New Offices for the London Life Association, Ltd.
(Illustration) ............................................................................ 496
Business Premises, Henrietta Street, W. l. (R. A.,
1927) (Illustration)...................................................... 497
The Bath Cinema, Leamington Spa (Illustrations).............. 498-501 The Bournemouth Pavilion (R. A., 1927) (Illustration).............. 500 The Oak Cinema, Selly Oak (Illustrations)....................... 502, 504 London Notes................... ........................................................ 506
Week’s Building News.............................................................. 508 Building Tenders..................................................... 508, 514 Contracts Open ...................................................................... 510 Current Market Prices................................................512, 514 Current Measured Ratos................................................516, 518 Building Wage Grades........................................... 520
NOTES AND COMMENTS
The controversy which has arisen between Sir John Simpson and the R. I. B. A. makes painful reading. That the distinguished architect, as an indignant protest against what he considers to be a personal affront, has severed his connection with a body of which he is a Past-President is much to be deplored; at the present juncture particularly, solidarity in the ranks of the profession is an important matter. One cannot help feeling sympathy with Sir John at the somewhat abrupt termination of his appointment on the Council of the British School at Rome, for although his term of office had expired, and the Council of the Institute were well within their rights in appointing a successor, Sir John s sixteen years’ service in that particular capacity would seem to have demanded rather more tactful recognition than it, apparently, received. The situation that has arisen is too delicate for any intrusion on our part, and the only object of this note is to make a suggestion which would, we think, prevent similar unfortunate occurrences in the future. We suggest that the R. I. B. A. should make a new Rule or By-law, by which the appointment of any member to serve upon an external Committee or Council should be limited to a given term of years. It would apply, of course, to appointments made by the Council, and not to those determined by the direct vote of the members. Under such a rule, any representative of the R. I. B. A. might be re-elected for a second or third term of office, after which he would, perforce, retire. Some such method would prevent any feeling of chagrin or want of appreciation which must inevitably arise when an appointment is terminated after a long term of years. There is a growing feeling in most societies that periodical change and infusion of: new blood in their executives is an advantage. The Architecture Club comes to mind as a body which, under its Rules, has retired several distinguished architects from its Executive Committee; and although there are times when such a provision gives rise to considerable regret, its advantages on the whole outweigh the disadvantages.
Manchester has just been celebrating the Jubilee of its Town Hall, a building that has more than ordinary significance for the northern metropolis. It is one of the most striking examples of the Gothic revival of the last century, and that phase of English architecture was peculiarly bound up with the religious and intellectual aspirations of the citizens of Manchester at the time their civic hall was erected. One might truthfully say that the romanticism which the unlovely developments of industrialism confined
within their breasts became articulate in this creation of Alfred Waterhouse, with its mural paintings by Ford Madox Brown, its magnificent organ, and its clock tower with a carillon of twenty-one bells. Waterhouse took pride in his achievement as an example of the practical adaptability of the style he loved for secular purposes. To him there was no building of utilitarian object that could not be expressed in the Gothic manner. Yet even in the midst of these Jubilee rejoicings there are misgivings. The Manchester Guardian, in a leader — ˮThe Passing of the Gothic’’ — says that the new addition which is to be made, “though linked to it by a bridge, need take no account of the misconceived beauty of its parent building. The chief treasure of the Town Hall, the Ford Madox Brown mural paintings, has suffered, as do the people who work in the building, from the lack of adequate lighting. ” Even these famous paintings, “notable in their kind throughout the world, have never seen light that would do justice to the magnificent colouring their creator lavished on them. ” Indeed, perhaps it is the lack of light that has concealed the growth of such ‘‘an alarming state of decay’’ in the paintings that an inquiry into their
condition has now been ordered. In another passage our distinguished contemporary finds that “the restlessness of outline and excess of ornament that marks the Gothic exterior has proved itself the worst of architectural forms to face the corrosion and soot of our industrial area. The better way is shown in the well-proportioned, plain surfaces of such welcome newcomers in our midst as Ship Canal House and the new buildings that are transforming Cross Street. ” With much of this we must, necessarily, agree. The contentions of the Gothic Revivalists were altogether extravagant; and their work was marked more by adherence to the letter of their chosen style than to its spirit. It has been left for this century and, notably, for Sir Giles Gilbert Scott, to manifest the modern note in Gothic and, in recapturing some of the true spirit of the mediæval work, to demonstrate that Gothic, stripped from the mummy wrappings of religious fanaticism and literary pretension, may become a practical expression for some of the buildings of the modern world.
The decision of the London County Council to embark upon their big slum clearance scheme for the Ossulston Street area, off Euston Road, has evoked a blessing from: Lt. -Comdr. J. M. Kenworthy, M. P., but this is coupled with a very strong demand for the elimination from the new blocks of tenements to be