Principal Contents
Notes and Comments ..... Page 817, 818 Dinner to Mr. C. F. A. Voysey (Illustration) . . 819, 820 Professional Societies ....... 820 Competition News . . . . . . . .820 Coming Events ........ 820 Cinema at Fulham (E.A., 1927). (Illustration) . . 821 Books and Publications ....... 822 Obituary..................................................................................822
Some Problems of Fenestration (Illustrations) . 823-825 Correspondence ........ 826 House at Effingham, Surrey (Illustrations) , . . 827 Notes jn Brief..........................................................................828
NOTES AND COMMENTS
The qii ner to Mr. Voysey was noteworthy because tie R.IJB A. that thus honoured him is a body from yhieh ae had always held aloof; and because the speeches his intimates, while recording frequent tfisfCgreem ents with him, yet testified that the bonds of fsiehdshi] were the more closely knit by these very cffifiregfee;. These facts illustrate very strikingly the impress! hich the distinguished architect has made upon lag fellows, both as a designer and as a man. If furtSe evidence were needed, it may be found ia thes imony there given of his absolute sincerity aid hisgjri gid adherence to his ideals and to what he b^lieveSt be right, To have had such a public tribute from his contemporaries, Mr. Voysey may count am achievement as great, perhaps, as the many designs, both for houses and their contents, that he has added to the sum of artistic effort in his generation, and which, by their very individuality and originality, unmistakably proclaim their author. Perhaps, most of all, lie will cherish the speeches of those close friends, assembled to do him honour, which, by their gentle raillery, betokened feelings of very real affection.
* * *
Readers may recollect that in the Commons debate, some months back, on the Architects’ Registration Bill, an M.P. ridiculed the R.I.B.A. because one of its examination papers had asked candidates “ to describe a Roman amphitheatre.” Forgetful of the Wembley Stadium, only one of many built in Euiope in recent years, the inference this legislator sought to draw was that there could be no more useless knowledge to the modern architect than an understanding o f how these places of public assembly were construete l in a past empire. Sir Herbert Baker, in his pa,»er at the R.I.B.A. on Monday, reminds us that the Government Buildings at Pretoria are built round a natural amphitheatre such as the Greeks chose at Segesta and Taarmina as the site for a theatre; and that the Pretoria amphitheatre is the place for great national assemblies. As he says, all over the Empire, where the climate can generally be depended upon, such out-ofdoor meeting-places do and will become of public and national importance. He had seen many durbars in India and two recently in Rhodesia. With the advent of loud-speakers, large stadia or amphitheatres may become in the future essential architectural necessities in all countries. “ So the obvious comment of architects upon the attach on their Bill by that ignorant member may well be that it would be no bad thing
The Stuttgart Housing Exhibition-—III (Illus
trations) . . . . . . . 829-833 Legal* Notes...................................................... . . 832 Points from Papers............................................. 834-837, 846 Building News in Parliament.............................................838
London Building Notes............................................. 839, 840 The Week’s Building News.................................... 841, 842 Building Contracts Open.....................................................843
Building Tenders...................................................... 843, 844 Current Market Prices . . ... . . 845, 846 Current Measured Rates ...... 847, 848
Vol. CXVIII—3075
The ARCHITECT
BUILDING NEWS
November 25, 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
if there were an examination and registration for Members of Parliament.” The irony needs no comment!
*****
Mr. E. Guy Dawber has again returned to the charge about the. spoliation of the countryside, in a letter to The Times, pointing out how the beauty of the Lake District was being spoiled by the use. of unsuitable building materials, especially in the roofs of new buildings. ‘ ‘ The position, ” he points out, ‘ ‘ would be absurd were it not so deplorable. ’ ’ Apparently bright red tiles are being brought all the way from the south of England when the Cumberland slate that tones so beautifully with the colours of the district is to be obtained near by. His letter is mainly an adjuration to the people of the Lake District to realise the infinite harm that is being done to the beauty of their countryside by injudicious building. We sympathise with, and endorse, his plea, although we are not blind to the fact that many of the offenders are entirely lacking in a sense of artistic fitness. They like red bricks and they like red tiles, the brighter the better, and they want them wherever their fancy leads them to reside. There is a pleasant bay on thb Dorset coast, with half a dozen fishermen’s cottages having stone walls and stone tiled roofs. A well-known London architect put up for a client another pleasant little cottage, also with stone walls and stone tiled roof! But almost adjoining this new cottage, some other people erected a great sprawling bungalow in red brick with a Welsh slate roof, and a profusion of white painted woodwork in the shape of barge boards, verandah posts and rails, and so on. Most of these materials had to come scores of miles by rail and several more by road; yet thousands of tons of the good Purbeck stone lay all around, to be had for the picking up. You cannot reason with that kind of temperament, but it accounts, in great measure for the ugly rash of bad and incongruous building which is spreading so rapidly in our rural localities.
****
Another correspondent of The Times draws attention to the rapidity with which new houses spring up along the new arterial roads at irregular intervals. The evils of riband development have been discussed ad nauseum, but this correspondent, a clergyman, finds additional drawbacks. To young couples marrying, such houses present many advantages; the dwellings are available, the occupants probably own a motor bicycle and side-car, or a small car, have
Notes and Comments ..... Page 817, 818 Dinner to Mr. C. F. A. Voysey (Illustration) . . 819, 820 Professional Societies ....... 820 Competition News . . . . . . . .820 Coming Events ........ 820 Cinema at Fulham (E.A., 1927). (Illustration) . . 821 Books and Publications ....... 822 Obituary..................................................................................822
Some Problems of Fenestration (Illustrations) . 823-825 Correspondence ........ 826 House at Effingham, Surrey (Illustrations) , . . 827 Notes jn Brief..........................................................................828
NOTES AND COMMENTS
The qii ner to Mr. Voysey was noteworthy because tie R.IJB A. that thus honoured him is a body from yhieh ae had always held aloof; and because the speeches his intimates, while recording frequent tfisfCgreem ents with him, yet testified that the bonds of fsiehdshi] were the more closely knit by these very cffifiregfee;. These facts illustrate very strikingly the impress! hich the distinguished architect has made upon lag fellows, both as a designer and as a man. If furtSe evidence were needed, it may be found ia thes imony there given of his absolute sincerity aid hisgjri gid adherence to his ideals and to what he b^lieveSt be right, To have had such a public tribute from his contemporaries, Mr. Voysey may count am achievement as great, perhaps, as the many designs, both for houses and their contents, that he has added to the sum of artistic effort in his generation, and which, by their very individuality and originality, unmistakably proclaim their author. Perhaps, most of all, lie will cherish the speeches of those close friends, assembled to do him honour, which, by their gentle raillery, betokened feelings of very real affection.
* * *
Readers may recollect that in the Commons debate, some months back, on the Architects’ Registration Bill, an M.P. ridiculed the R.I.B.A. because one of its examination papers had asked candidates “ to describe a Roman amphitheatre.” Forgetful of the Wembley Stadium, only one of many built in Euiope in recent years, the inference this legislator sought to draw was that there could be no more useless knowledge to the modern architect than an understanding o f how these places of public assembly were construete l in a past empire. Sir Herbert Baker, in his pa,»er at the R.I.B.A. on Monday, reminds us that the Government Buildings at Pretoria are built round a natural amphitheatre such as the Greeks chose at Segesta and Taarmina as the site for a theatre; and that the Pretoria amphitheatre is the place for great national assemblies. As he says, all over the Empire, where the climate can generally be depended upon, such out-ofdoor meeting-places do and will become of public and national importance. He had seen many durbars in India and two recently in Rhodesia. With the advent of loud-speakers, large stadia or amphitheatres may become in the future essential architectural necessities in all countries. “ So the obvious comment of architects upon the attach on their Bill by that ignorant member may well be that it would be no bad thing
The Stuttgart Housing Exhibition-—III (Illus
trations) . . . . . . . 829-833 Legal* Notes...................................................... . . 832 Points from Papers............................................. 834-837, 846 Building News in Parliament.............................................838
London Building Notes............................................. 839, 840 The Week’s Building News.................................... 841, 842 Building Contracts Open.....................................................843
Building Tenders...................................................... 843, 844 Current Market Prices . . ... . . 845, 846 Current Measured Rates ...... 847, 848
Vol. CXVIII—3075
The ARCHITECT
BUILDING NEWS
November 25, 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
if there were an examination and registration for Members of Parliament.” The irony needs no comment!
*****
Mr. E. Guy Dawber has again returned to the charge about the. spoliation of the countryside, in a letter to The Times, pointing out how the beauty of the Lake District was being spoiled by the use. of unsuitable building materials, especially in the roofs of new buildings. ‘ ‘ The position, ” he points out, ‘ ‘ would be absurd were it not so deplorable. ’ ’ Apparently bright red tiles are being brought all the way from the south of England when the Cumberland slate that tones so beautifully with the colours of the district is to be obtained near by. His letter is mainly an adjuration to the people of the Lake District to realise the infinite harm that is being done to the beauty of their countryside by injudicious building. We sympathise with, and endorse, his plea, although we are not blind to the fact that many of the offenders are entirely lacking in a sense of artistic fitness. They like red bricks and they like red tiles, the brighter the better, and they want them wherever their fancy leads them to reside. There is a pleasant bay on thb Dorset coast, with half a dozen fishermen’s cottages having stone walls and stone tiled roofs. A well-known London architect put up for a client another pleasant little cottage, also with stone walls and stone tiled roof! But almost adjoining this new cottage, some other people erected a great sprawling bungalow in red brick with a Welsh slate roof, and a profusion of white painted woodwork in the shape of barge boards, verandah posts and rails, and so on. Most of these materials had to come scores of miles by rail and several more by road; yet thousands of tons of the good Purbeck stone lay all around, to be had for the picking up. You cannot reason with that kind of temperament, but it accounts, in great measure for the ugly rash of bad and incongruous building which is spreading so rapidly in our rural localities.
****
Another correspondent of The Times draws attention to the rapidity with which new houses spring up along the new arterial roads at irregular intervals. The evils of riband development have been discussed ad nauseum, but this correspondent, a clergyman, finds additional drawbacks. To young couples marrying, such houses present many advantages; the dwellings are available, the occupants probably own a motor bicycle and side-car, or a small car, have