CITIES OF THE FUTURE

Dominion, Volume 22, Issue 184, 2 May 1929, Page 3

CITIES OF THE FUTURE

AN ARCHITECT’S FORECAST The revolution with which architecture is faced owing to the development of the new materials and methods of construction, and the gradual abolition of the smoke nuisance in cities, was discussed by Mr. Howard Robertson at a lecture given at the Architectural Association in London. The lecturer said that this was a scientific age, yet architecture was scarcely scientific. Flats existed at Ostia 1500 years ago with open balconies and heating, yet to-day we were still wanting such desirable qualities in our residences as plentiful sunlight and air, the securing of which largely depended upon a better appreciation of space factors in design. Practical steps were now being taken in this direction, particularly abroad, where big windows, terraces, out-of-door sleeping porches, and well organised mechanical equipments were receiving increasing attention. Buildings in the future would be supplied with electric power for heating and cooking from municipal sources, and gradually the smoke and dirt problem, so difficult in great cities, would disappear as the open coal fire was abolished. Mechanical efficiency in every direction to-day had stimulated mechanical expression in design, and the lecturer mentioned steel furniture as one instance of efficiency in material, while old materials were being used in a new way such as in America, where furniture was being designed entirely in laminated wood. With the abolition of smoke opportunity would come for the development of roofs as places which could be used either as roof gardens, or they might even become continuous flat expanses available for promenades. Such a development of the city of the future would necessitate a complete control of the types of buildings, flnffi Mr. Robertson predicted open park® ways between the residential and business buildings. Buildings could be limited to five or six stories, but at stated intervals the erection of lofty tower buildings would be sanctioned. The City of London, for instance, would be allowed to erect high buildings, but a condition would be made that ground in the street should be conceded in proportion to the extra height permitted

to ensure light and air. Residential dwellings would become increasingly of the apartment type, with continuous roof gardens and wide balconies, and the ground floor devoted to garages and storage. Double-Deck Streets. This would be aided by new methods of dealing with traffic. Double-deck street's were being tried in Chicago, and one was being planned in Paris to connect the Faubourg St. Honore and the Rue de Courcelles, but there were difficulties in lighting and ventilation. Probably separation of pedestrian and vehicular traffic would prove the solution, with the pedestrians on the present first-floor level and garages and vehicles below. Bridges would connect the two sides of the street, and thus the pedestrian would escape the risks of crossing the roads. This principle could be applied only in large units, and Mr. Robertson pointed out that a great opportunity was lost when Regent Street was reconstructed, of placing all the shops and pavements on the first-floor level. Lifts, of course, would provide access to the various floors of the buildings from the ground level. The progress in construction had at present outstripped architectural design, for steel and concrete construction was not truly expressed by casing in brick and stone, and he expected to ' see in the future lighter casings of manufactured slabs, the extended use of glass and metals, and possibly further development of the method of applying outer coverings by squirting with a cement gun. It was encouraging to see the increasing attention being given by architects to the fulfilment first, of the function of a building—concert halls in which one could see and hear, such as the Salle Pleyel in Paris, and exhibition halls like the new'Horticultural Hall in London, specially designed to fulfil a practical requirement, style being a secondary consideration.

Mr. Robertson suggested that many buildings would have large glass areas and possibly be constructed with hollow walls with a vacuum between, retaining heat and keeping out cold on the principle of the thermos flask. He also fjhowed a sketch of a proposal to provide an air station on the roof of the Pennsylvania railway terminus in New York, and remarked that when the new station at Charing Cross was designed there would be an Opportunity to take a wide view of the needs of the future,