ART AND COMMERCE.

New Zealand Herald, Volume LXII, Issue 19027, 26 May 1925, Page 11

ART AND COMMERCE.

THE CITY BEAUTIFUL. DESIGNING BUSINESS BLOCKS IMPORTANCE OF ARCHITECTURE PLANNING LOCAL FIFTH AVENUES "Thoro is no escaping architecture," declared Professor C. R. Knight, in addressing tho Rotary Club 'yesterday on "Architecture and Commerce." "We may escapo the doctor and tho dentist, but architecture is always with us. If it is good and fine, then wo aro proud of our city and its buildings; if it is bad, then wo suffer in being always, wo livo in a discontented frame of mind, and readily seize opportunities to start business in a better town." Architecture was one of the fine arts, but it was also one of tho most useful of all arts, continued tho speaker. It touched tho life of man at all points, for it not only concerned the sheltering and comfort of his person, but was a matter that affected his places of worship, of entertainment and business, tombs and memorials and civic adornment. Commerce, on the other hand, represented most of tho great activities that stood for world progress, and was the patron of all the arts and sciences. The present era was essentially one of commerce and the wealth and success of every country depended upon it. Efficient and successful commercial activity meant wealth and prosperity not only to the heads of concerns, but to the nation, and wealth meant power. Tho Romans were great commercial men, continued the professor, and their national greatness was in largo measure due to their commercial activity. Similarly, the beauties of Venice, and its delightful surroundings, were developed in an ago of commercial activity. Every country was largely dependent on its commerce for the support of its army and navy, and commerce therefore represented tho power behind the great nations of the' world to-day. It was the work of architects to house properly all these activities of the nation, to give them the facilities necessary for prosperous growth and development, and by skill in planning to permit them to function better than before. Good Architecture Pays. In expressing tho conviction' that good architecture always paid, the professor gave an account of the development of tho ''sky-scraper" vogue in New York. Apart from tho necessity of making the most of a limited area, there were two important considerations which had had a direct bearing on tho evolution of tho "sky-scraper." One was a desire for a building which should be spectacular and so advertised itself and its owner, and the other was a desire to obtain on a given section of land, a maximum amount of rentable floor space. Tho American business man had used the architect to fullest advantage in tho realisation of these objects. The Woolworth Building, for example, was famous not only as the highest in tho world, but also for the beauty of its architecture. A notabie example of the introduction of new beauty to an area converted from a residential to a commercial district was given by tho speaker, who described the evolution of Fifth Avenue, New York. Twenty-five years ago it was an avenue of ugly, uninteresting brown-stone houses; to-day it was a place of palatial marble buildings, one of the finest commercial thoroughfares in tho world. This showed how deeply the American business man recognised that good architecture paid. And the same thing was going on in every growing city in the world New Zealand's Fifth Avenue. "We shall have our Fifth Avenues in New Zealand in years to come," declared the professor in concluding. "Industries and commerce are centring more and more in tho cities, whether we like it or not, and. wo must take a long view ahead. The architect and the commercial man must work toirether. We must insist firmly and definitely on the proper education of the student of architecture of to-day, giving him the facilities and opportunities to learn all that can be learned. He will be the architect of tomorrow, the future designer of our Fifth Avenues, and must be capable of dealing with the great commercial problems that will arise, of creating and erecting noble edifices that will give us pride and satisfaction in our own cities and also aid the commercial progress of the nation." In moving a- vote of thanks to the lecturer, Mr. A. G. Lunn spoke of the economic advantages of beauty in architecturo. There were in any architectural problems waiting to bo solved in Auckland, and all commercial and business men'should do their 'utmost to try to awaken public opinion in the achievement of a City Beautiful.