THE HOUSING PROBLEM.

Northern Advocate, 18 June 1920, Page 6

THE HOUSING PROBLEM.

'SKYSCRAPERS" FOR LONDON

PROPOSED

Londoners have hud a bomb as- j p_oded upon them in the shape of a j bold proposition made by Sir Martin Conway in his recent address to tvs London Society. In can be summarised in quite a snort sentence: "Building widely should he stopped, and building higner resorted to." In other words, that modified skyscrapers are the only solution of its housing problem. The '•Christian Science Monitor" .representative calling at Sir Martin Conway's office, found him comfortably seated in his office chair, and not as was half expected surrounded by a .protesting crowd of angry fellow citizens. He admitted, however, that his speech had created widespread interest, and that his post bag had been a heavy one since his advocacy of such drastic reversal of some of the Britisher's most cherished customs.

Sir Martin Conway, F.S.A., F.R.G.S, is not only a distinguisher traveller, mountaineer, art exponent, and writer, but a great student of crowd psychology, upon which subject he (had some interesting remarks to make in connection with its relation to housing. "IMy idea,' he said, "is that man is neither wholly gregarious, nor nongregarious; he swings like a pendulum from one phase to another. At one moment the crowd life around him absorbs his whole-hearted attention, and in it he, for the time, loses his identity. At other times he as completely desires severance. He no longer resembles a sheep in a flock, or a wolf in a pack, but remains aloof, like some lonely condor, circling in the blue, and for this reason, socialism and individualism are equally false, for the true social order must be based upon the combination of them both.

"It is this ideal of the communal lfitfe upon an individualistic (basis,' continued Sir Martin, "which these proposed huge aggregations of humanity, under the most perfect modern conditions, are intended to carry out. Here, in basements and Bower floors, the gregarious instincts of the inhabitants could find outlet, for here I would have a kinema, hall for dancing, entertainments, lectures and concerts; clubs, for men and women, and canteens, while the needs of children would be supplied by playground, playrooms, creche, kindergarten, elementary school and gymnasium. Then I would have communal kitchen, communal laundry, roof-gardens, co-operative store, and shops, so that each building would he, as it were, a self-support-ing island, in the ocean of the city."

COMMUNAL DWELLINGS.

With genuine feeling, Sir Martin Conway went on to explain how his ambition was to make these communal! dwellings of benefit to the womenfolk by putting an end to their weary tramp in rain and slush, and snow, in search of the commodities of everyday life. By obviating the chaotic inconveniences of "washing day" in the tiny home, or the alternative pilgrimage with heavy load to tfhe public wash house, as well as ihe children's all too adventurus journeyings to school, and their hapless playgrounds in the streets.

"The mother," he emphasised, "would not have to go out, save for work or recreation, and When she was out, she would leave her baby in th creche, the younger children in the kindergarten and the older ones in the school or nearby play-

ground."

Here 'Sir Martin explained how side by side with these communal facilities, would be the absolutely indiividualistJc living in the flats, each self-contained, with its own k'tchen, complete with a gas cooker, where those who spurn communal food couM enjoy the delights of the home-cooked variety and the joys of a detached solitude, as they gaze from ithejjr mountain-peak window at a puny world beneath them. Each Hot wouftl be centrally heated, Sir Martin continued to explain, entering into details in such a way as to show how carefully he had thought out hit* •scheme, with cupboards, and every device for reducing work to a minimum. Baths would be provided, and washing accommodation in every room

PLENTY OF OPEN SPACE

ISo much for the outline of the interior of these great hives. A quesr tion as to their exterior elicited a quick reply. "For every 10 houses, say in Whitechapel, I propose to build one upward, which leaves me with nine vacant sites, and 10 backyards, practically o_ the existing area for playgrounds, and green spaces. In other words, given 12 acres of slums, it would be rebuilt upon three acres, leaving nine acres of open space, though such a proportion would be needlessly large. People have misunderstood my intention as regards these high buildings, imagining that they were to be replicas of New York's towering skyscrapers, which, of course, are mainly used for offices and business purposes. The buildings I am advocating would form a huge quadrangle, some 300 yards square, surrounded by dwellings, probably 30

stories high, and taking* 12 feet to

a story, tne total height would work out at something* Hke 360 feet. Instead of deep canyons between the .ouildings, as some have imagined, these dwellings would be set in great, open spaces, the iuter;-.ecf ing stre<;t_ would be 100 yards wide and tiio best architects would so design them that they would have a colos.al beauty all their own. Thus, instead of a tower, we should get a building, almost three times greater in width than in height. The vexed question of altitude will finally be decided upon financial grounds, and I believe that if the scheme were undertaken upon a large enough scale, it would be found to be practically possible, economic rents could be charged, and the whole would be self-supporting." This element of the commercial, and the non-charitable in his scheme was one upon which Sir Martin iConway ! laid great stress. Everything, from the roof, garden to the kinema ani laundry, would pay its way iby means of a small charge an elective committee of the inhabitants managing all their own communal affairs.

A tentative plea for those who sti.'l cling to their semi-rural existence in Dhe suburbs, in «pite of its many difficulties drew from Sir Martin a most emphatic rejoinder: "People nowadays must choose one thing or another, town or country. If country, there will be the garden city, with its factory and empolyment close at hand. If they decide upon the town, it must be town, and we shall do our best to render urban life more amenable than it is now."