The Grey River Argus SATURDAY, May 15, 1943 BETTER THINGS FOR EVERYDAY.

Grey River Argus, 15 May 1943, Page 4

The Grey River Argus SATURDAY, May 15, 1943 BETTER THINGS FOR EVERYDAY.

Some indication of the revolutionary approach likely to be made to housing problems in the post-war world was conveyed in a Sydney cablegram published this week, which stated that Australia expects mass production of plastics as well as other prefabricated materials Io make an important ■contribution to the solution of, her problems. Whether or not plastic houses turned in sections from a mould are a welcome and desirable development is a question that might be the subject of considerable debate, but the announcement raises again the important part which dwellings and their contents —the ordinary, everyday surroundings of men and women —play in our lives. Life was never more complicated than in this twentieth century, and man has probably never before surrounded himself with more possessions than now; and so, 1 hough Ihe principles of ‘‘fir|mncss, commodity, and delight” which the great Roman, Vitruvius, laid down still apply in building as much as they did jn his day, they work out rather differently in practice. Some has remarked, 'comparing the heavy furnture-filled, rather decorative rooms of last century with the cleaner, barer lines in house interiors that are more in evidence to-day, that we travel faster and need .less about us, and in a way that is true. For people who live surrounded by the speed and bustle of the machine age need bouses that can be lived in easily, rcstfully, and with, a minimum of effort. That houses can and do differ very greatly in the measure in which they possess these qualities is a fact not sufficiently realised. To- illustrate: Some years ago an American expert counted Ike steps taken by the housewife in making a cake. He found that they totalled 281. The kitchen was redesigned and the number reduced to forty-five. In this way about two hundred yards of walking was saved to a. cake or a mile in just over eight rakes. True, the housewife was getting exercise, but there are plenty of more interesting and healty places for taking a walk than in the kitchen. Colour schemes ai-e also thought about much more than they used to be from the psythological as well as the aesthetic viewpoint. Light tones give more light to a room and a feeling of extra space, as, conversely, over-pat-tened walls, upholstery, . and carpets occupy the eye and make a room look smaller. This question comes very much into our places of work, too, not only, as is now' beginning Io be realised, as something that is good and comfortable for the workers, but as something which serves employers of labour, too, in saving eyestrain and nerve strain and reducing fatigue generally,' and consequently increasing working efficiency. The employer nowadays who does not plan his place of work with an eye to industrial psychology marches behind the times and is one of his own enemies. And just as houses and places of work are tending more and more to-day to be planned and built to give light and space and a feeling of restfulness to those who live and work in them so will the towns of the future tend increasingly to be places of sunlight and open spaces. Seen in that light even flats, for all their drawbacks, may have a good deal in their favour for those .whose habits of life they suit, because* they use up less of the good earth. Planned wisely tlley have the advantage too of encouraging community life. Planning and designing in each and. all of these things which can serve so much to make the lives of all men and women less of a

strain are sure lo be matters of very great concern in whatever better future the world may look forward to. And ordinary men and women can. hasten the day of their arrival by interesting themselves now in the fitness for purpose of all the things—from kitchenware to houses and towns —which arc part of their everyday life.