BOOKS AND PUBLICATIONS
The Acoustics of Buildings
The Acoustics of Buildings. By A. H. Davis and G. W. C. Kaye. (London: G. Bell & Sons, Ltd.).
Price 15s. net.
In the “ Acoustics of Buildings ” Messrs. Davis & Kaye have given us a most valuable treatise upon the behaviour of sound waves in buildings, which should go far towards clearing this important subject of some of the fog of myth and mystery with which it has been surrounded in this country. In the past, as Bacon wrote in his Natural History, “ Music, in the Practice, hath been well pursued and in good variety, but in the Theory, and especially in the yielding of the Causes of the Practice, very weakly: being reduced into certain Mystical Subtilties of no use and not much Truth.”
In this volume the authors have done much useful work in co-ordinating the important pioneer work in acoustics, which has been carried by such men as W. C. Sabine, and in setting it forth in the light of their own experience in the National Physical Laboratory : so that they have been able to make valuable contributions to the science, especially in the chapters dealing with the generation and measurement of sound and the measurement of sound absorption and transmission.
Much work still remains to be done in the matter of sound-proofing, and reliable data are needed for many of the more modern materials and constructions. It is to be hoped that research work in this country will be pressed forward with even greater vigour, so that we may be in a position to grapple with the vital problems which confront us and which will increasingly arise with the march of noise and civilisation. It cannot be long before big business realises the enormous wastage in the nervous systems of its satellites, caused by the undue noise and shock of the operations of commerce. Most of our acoustic problems seem to be of our own making and are due mainly to modern materials and methods of construction, especially in the use of hard plasters and steel framing.
On the whole this book will appeal to the physicist and the acoustic specialist rather than to the ordinary practising architect. For, although the authors very rightly state that preventive acoustics are to be preferred to curative acoustics, there is too little constructive work demonstrated. The majority of the examples chosen for analysis show the correction of one or more acoustic defects, and one would like to have seen the complete graphical analysis of a building which had been planned a priori for an optimum acoustic condition. Buildings such as the Hill Memorial Hall in America and Mr. Voysey’s White Rock Pavilion in this country, show how completely the modern architect may devise his buildings in harmony with acoustic requirements. The excellent chapter dealing with special types of auditoria would have been infinitely more valuable architecturally had it been amplified by diagrams, showing the design of orchestra and stage with their special reflectors and resonators, the depth to which seats may be recessed beneath galleries and still be adequately reinforced by reflectors, and so on, to mention only a few points. However, the subject matter contained in this chapter should provoke architects to consider how they may devise volumes, shapes and surfaces which shall fulfil all these conditions.
But the authors seem to be under some misapprehension as to the role of the architect when they assess the problem of the acoustic analysis of buildings as the question of varying (a) the “ architectural features,” and (h) the engineering side—including
shape, dimensions and materials. All this and moreis, of course, bound up in the architectural programme, and must be carefully considered as a whole if the form of the building is to articulate function and use.
Indeed, so far from imposing upon the architect undesirable limitations and restrictions in the design of a building, the right observance of principles borne out by acoustic analysis will often prove a positive assistance to him in giving to a chamber its fittingarchitectural expression. That is to say, that where the acoustics are prescribed in the design of a building, law courts will cease to be designed after the manner of Mausoleums; no longer will a church intended for a simple Protestant service be given the same architectural character as a church designed for the performance of a rich choral ritual; while a council chamber will begin to partake of the character of a chamber for a deliberative assembly..
The Ley Hunter
The Ley Hunter’s Manual. By Alfred Watkins. Pp. 90. (London: Simpkin, Marshall & Co.)- Price 2s. net.
What is a ley hunter and what the quarry hepursues? We suspect that some readers will raisethese queries, and Mr. Watkins plunges in medias res in his preface. He ‘ ‘ bain’t a arguing wiv yer ’ ’; he’s “ a telling of yer,” to quote his illustration, and he proceeds to do so with the directness of the real enthusiast. The ley or lie of the land expresses the subject most aptly, and this book is designed as a guide to those who wish to search out or traverse those forgotten tracks along which the primitive inhabitants found their way about these islands in. pursuit of their lawful (and, probably, often unlawful) occasions. It is a fascinating hobby, for though traces of the original tracks are infrequent, the ways; are to be established by surviving marks, hills, mounds, sighting points, and so on, and its study, apart from historical value, may well give point to rambles about the countryside, which still hold air attraction for many of us.
Obituary
Mr„ William Woodward
We regret to announce the death of Mr. William- Woodward, F.R.I.B.A., F.S.I., which occurred on November 17 at his Hampstead residence. Mr. Woodward, who had reached the advanced age of eightyone, had been in failing health for some months past.
He joined the R.I.B.A. in 1879 and the Surveyors’ Institution in 1882, and was a familiar figure in both organisations. He was a remarkably active man who took a keen interest in London and its buildings,, explored the Metropolis thoroughly and made many suggestions for improvements in it, some of which were published under the title of “ London as it is. and as it should be. ” He was a trenchant critic, and controversialist on matters connected with his profession, but his air of geniality and bonhomie usuallydisarmed his opponents. In his later years, he mademany tours about the Kingdom, mainly inspectingancient monuments, concerning the reparation and preservation of which he made recommendations to the responsible authorities. He was responsible for many large shop and office buildings in Central London, and was associated with the design of the Piccadilly Hotel. He had been a member of the Council of the R.I.B.A., a Past Master of the Glass Sellers’ Company and had held high office as a Freemason. He leaves two sons, who were in partnership with himuntil his retirement and who carry on his practice.
The Acoustics of Buildings
The Acoustics of Buildings. By A. H. Davis and G. W. C. Kaye. (London: G. Bell & Sons, Ltd.).
Price 15s. net.
In the “ Acoustics of Buildings ” Messrs. Davis & Kaye have given us a most valuable treatise upon the behaviour of sound waves in buildings, which should go far towards clearing this important subject of some of the fog of myth and mystery with which it has been surrounded in this country. In the past, as Bacon wrote in his Natural History, “ Music, in the Practice, hath been well pursued and in good variety, but in the Theory, and especially in the yielding of the Causes of the Practice, very weakly: being reduced into certain Mystical Subtilties of no use and not much Truth.”
In this volume the authors have done much useful work in co-ordinating the important pioneer work in acoustics, which has been carried by such men as W. C. Sabine, and in setting it forth in the light of their own experience in the National Physical Laboratory : so that they have been able to make valuable contributions to the science, especially in the chapters dealing with the generation and measurement of sound and the measurement of sound absorption and transmission.
Much work still remains to be done in the matter of sound-proofing, and reliable data are needed for many of the more modern materials and constructions. It is to be hoped that research work in this country will be pressed forward with even greater vigour, so that we may be in a position to grapple with the vital problems which confront us and which will increasingly arise with the march of noise and civilisation. It cannot be long before big business realises the enormous wastage in the nervous systems of its satellites, caused by the undue noise and shock of the operations of commerce. Most of our acoustic problems seem to be of our own making and are due mainly to modern materials and methods of construction, especially in the use of hard plasters and steel framing.
On the whole this book will appeal to the physicist and the acoustic specialist rather than to the ordinary practising architect. For, although the authors very rightly state that preventive acoustics are to be preferred to curative acoustics, there is too little constructive work demonstrated. The majority of the examples chosen for analysis show the correction of one or more acoustic defects, and one would like to have seen the complete graphical analysis of a building which had been planned a priori for an optimum acoustic condition. Buildings such as the Hill Memorial Hall in America and Mr. Voysey’s White Rock Pavilion in this country, show how completely the modern architect may devise his buildings in harmony with acoustic requirements. The excellent chapter dealing with special types of auditoria would have been infinitely more valuable architecturally had it been amplified by diagrams, showing the design of orchestra and stage with their special reflectors and resonators, the depth to which seats may be recessed beneath galleries and still be adequately reinforced by reflectors, and so on, to mention only a few points. However, the subject matter contained in this chapter should provoke architects to consider how they may devise volumes, shapes and surfaces which shall fulfil all these conditions.
But the authors seem to be under some misapprehension as to the role of the architect when they assess the problem of the acoustic analysis of buildings as the question of varying (a) the “ architectural features,” and (h) the engineering side—including
shape, dimensions and materials. All this and moreis, of course, bound up in the architectural programme, and must be carefully considered as a whole if the form of the building is to articulate function and use.
Indeed, so far from imposing upon the architect undesirable limitations and restrictions in the design of a building, the right observance of principles borne out by acoustic analysis will often prove a positive assistance to him in giving to a chamber its fittingarchitectural expression. That is to say, that where the acoustics are prescribed in the design of a building, law courts will cease to be designed after the manner of Mausoleums; no longer will a church intended for a simple Protestant service be given the same architectural character as a church designed for the performance of a rich choral ritual; while a council chamber will begin to partake of the character of a chamber for a deliberative assembly..
The Ley Hunter
The Ley Hunter’s Manual. By Alfred Watkins. Pp. 90. (London: Simpkin, Marshall & Co.)- Price 2s. net.
What is a ley hunter and what the quarry hepursues? We suspect that some readers will raisethese queries, and Mr. Watkins plunges in medias res in his preface. He ‘ ‘ bain’t a arguing wiv yer ’ ’; he’s “ a telling of yer,” to quote his illustration, and he proceeds to do so with the directness of the real enthusiast. The ley or lie of the land expresses the subject most aptly, and this book is designed as a guide to those who wish to search out or traverse those forgotten tracks along which the primitive inhabitants found their way about these islands in. pursuit of their lawful (and, probably, often unlawful) occasions. It is a fascinating hobby, for though traces of the original tracks are infrequent, the ways; are to be established by surviving marks, hills, mounds, sighting points, and so on, and its study, apart from historical value, may well give point to rambles about the countryside, which still hold air attraction for many of us.
Obituary
Mr„ William Woodward
We regret to announce the death of Mr. William- Woodward, F.R.I.B.A., F.S.I., which occurred on November 17 at his Hampstead residence. Mr. Woodward, who had reached the advanced age of eightyone, had been in failing health for some months past.
He joined the R.I.B.A. in 1879 and the Surveyors’ Institution in 1882, and was a familiar figure in both organisations. He was a remarkably active man who took a keen interest in London and its buildings,, explored the Metropolis thoroughly and made many suggestions for improvements in it, some of which were published under the title of “ London as it is. and as it should be. ” He was a trenchant critic, and controversialist on matters connected with his profession, but his air of geniality and bonhomie usuallydisarmed his opponents. In his later years, he mademany tours about the Kingdom, mainly inspectingancient monuments, concerning the reparation and preservation of which he made recommendations to the responsible authorities. He was responsible for many large shop and office buildings in Central London, and was associated with the design of the Piccadilly Hotel. He had been a member of the Council of the R.I.B.A., a Past Master of the Glass Sellers’ Company and had held high office as a Freemason. He leaves two sons, who were in partnership with himuntil his retirement and who carry on his practice.