entering or leaving the palace has had an important effect on the design. As the entrance most constantly used would be that nearest to the Rue de Lausanne, it is assumed that the President and his Staff would drive into the first court and enter the Assembly Hall from the main entrance there situated. While the plan appears to be somewhat intricate, the form arrived at is the result of a desire to satisfy the needs of the building’s occupants rather than to achieve the maximum formal simplicity. In doing this, Mr. Butler prejudiced his chances of winning the competition, for in recent years there has grown up a practice on the part of assessors of giving first prize only to those designs which have a certain obvious formality and an apparent inevitability. Extreme simplicity of planning, however, while often a virtue to be sought after, is not on all occasions synonymous with convenience. Mr. Butler has boldly designed his Assembly Hall with a domed square centre portion and transepts purposely to suggest a shape more often associated with halls of worship than with theatres or concert rooms.
Mr. Burford’s design, presented in an exquisite set of drawings, has the interest which attaches to novelty of stylistic treatment. The grand façade towards the lake, with its vertical emphasis, has vigour of conception, but while it certainly suggests that it belongs to an important building, it does not give one the impression of being created to serve such a unique social occasion as that created by the formation of the League of Nations. Moreover, by raising the height of the Secretariat walls the Assembly Hall has in
comparison been somewhat dwarfed, with the result that he has found it necessary to create a new dominant in the form of a broad and lofty “salle de pas Perdus’’ not asked for in the conditions, thereby
ignoring the requirements of strict economy so clearly laid down by the assessors.
Other competitors who have deprived the Assembly Hall of its formal pre-eminence in their design are Messrs. Mears and Carus Wilson, who have placed in the centre of their building a “sky-scraper” tower
which, however, is not altogether an architectural luxury, inasmuch as office quarters are provided within it. In the elevations there is an attempt to make a departure from the traditional Classic style, but it may perhaps be suggested that the upper extremity of the façade comes to a conclusion too suddenly and we are left without sufficient terminal emphasis at this point.
Mr. E. S. Bell, of Stirling, has the distinction of being one of two competitors (the other being a German whose design was premiated) submitting a circular plan. This appears to be a perfectly logical solution, the Assembly Hall being in the centre and marked externally by a large dome, while the Secretariat offices are linked by a circular corridor, which at various points is in communication with the Hall. Prom the point of view of economy in construction the design has obvious advantages, and may possibly have been turned down on this account, yet the circular form has a certain finality which would well have symbolised the ambitions of those who desire to DESIGN SUBMITTED BY MESSES. W. & T. R. MILBURN, FF. R. I. B. A., Architects.
DESIGN SUBMITTED BY MESSES. MEARS & CARUS WILSON, Architects.
Mr. Burford’s design, presented in an exquisite set of drawings, has the interest which attaches to novelty of stylistic treatment. The grand façade towards the lake, with its vertical emphasis, has vigour of conception, but while it certainly suggests that it belongs to an important building, it does not give one the impression of being created to serve such a unique social occasion as that created by the formation of the League of Nations. Moreover, by raising the height of the Secretariat walls the Assembly Hall has in
comparison been somewhat dwarfed, with the result that he has found it necessary to create a new dominant in the form of a broad and lofty “salle de pas Perdus’’ not asked for in the conditions, thereby
ignoring the requirements of strict economy so clearly laid down by the assessors.
Other competitors who have deprived the Assembly Hall of its formal pre-eminence in their design are Messrs. Mears and Carus Wilson, who have placed in the centre of their building a “sky-scraper” tower
which, however, is not altogether an architectural luxury, inasmuch as office quarters are provided within it. In the elevations there is an attempt to make a departure from the traditional Classic style, but it may perhaps be suggested that the upper extremity of the façade comes to a conclusion too suddenly and we are left without sufficient terminal emphasis at this point.
Mr. E. S. Bell, of Stirling, has the distinction of being one of two competitors (the other being a German whose design was premiated) submitting a circular plan. This appears to be a perfectly logical solution, the Assembly Hall being in the centre and marked externally by a large dome, while the Secretariat offices are linked by a circular corridor, which at various points is in communication with the Hall. Prom the point of view of economy in construction the design has obvious advantages, and may possibly have been turned down on this account, yet the circular form has a certain finality which would well have symbolised the ambitions of those who desire to DESIGN SUBMITTED BY MESSES. W. & T. R. MILBURN, FF. R. I. B. A., Architects.
DESIGN SUBMITTED BY MESSES. MEARS & CARUS WILSON, Architects.