LIVABLENESS IN HOUSING

Nelson Evening Mail, Volume 76, 25 October 1941, Page 4

LIVABLENESS IN HOUSING

THE MODERN ARCHITECT'S AIM “If there is one word which tin modern architect has to keep in mint more than any other when advising i client about a plan for a house it i: ‘livableness’,” states a leading Nev Zealand architect. “Frequently on< finds that however much thought ma; be given to the matter by persons wh< wish to ensure as much comfort a: possible in new homes, they overlool some important factors." He mentioned that the word "livable ness" was getting keen attention fron architects in other countries. For ex ample an American reviewer had madi th*s remark:—“Every suburban dwellci feels that he can be an English country gentleman on aSO by 100 foot lot. 1 is the architect's unpleasant duty firs to tell him that this is an impossibility and then patiently (or as patiently a: he will let us) tell him what he cat have, and how skilful planning ant modern materials can give him « home much better than that of hi: dream ‘English gentleman.' “To give him a trust in the essentia livableness of this house of to-day yot are building for him means drawings visits, perhaps interior as well as exterior models, and quiet, confiden leadership. Only so can the problen be solved. And books on houses a: places-to-live-in. not as style designs nor as purveyors of ‘charm’ are sorely needed. What, for instance, is a living room? What goes on in it? Would yot like to see from its windows? How cai it be designed to fulfil its varied functions? Ask a client these question: sc letime. You will be surprised how little he has thought of rooms from thi: point of view: he has thought of hi: living rooms in purely pictorial terms not in living terms, because what ht r eads tends to make him do so."