“STANDARDISED HOUSES"

Wanganui Chronicle, Volume 79, Issue 125, 28 May 1936, Page 8

“STANDARDISED HOUSES"

AN ARCHITECT’S CRITICISM “Houses cannot be built like aulomo biles. Juss’Cntial soci-al and spiritual values are not machine products, but are those of the architect.’’ dtvlarea Mr Arthur T. North in Lhe American Architect. “As a result of massproduction oi>session, influenced poss.bly by the socalled •international’ style in arch:tecture, some architects huve strayed I from the path of a coinuiun sense; a .matter perhaps to be expected during these times of great changes, readjustment an<l emotional stress ’’ In criticism of the attempts to produce standardised dwelling houses by machine-made mass-production method's, Mr North remarks that a common weaknes in the manufacture!.-.’ approach is the natural desire to utilise the maximum quantity of materials produced by Lhr, sponsoring concern, regardless of their fitness. Any design or scheme developed for the primary purpose of promoting the maximum use of any on* material or proprietary art.-le, regardless of its physical characteristics, is doomed to failure. The designer, having no choice, is handicapped before lie starts. Notwithstanding that particular group of cognoscenti that aim® to eradicate the “tailor-made” structure and the “architect-tailor,” the production of dwellings is the job for the capable and experienced architect alone. The engineers’ concept of a non aesthetic shelter manufactured acco r d.ng to diaI gram and schedule of catalogued pro- | ducts is incomplete. Any approach to this problem that, fails to recognise the true functions of the architect, that discards the jeal-ously-guarded prepogatives of labour and the natural allocation of work to long-established trades, or that forgets that bankers lend money only on saleable properties (which se'dem include radical departures from accustomed forms) is as futile as the hopeful dreams of the reformer who seeks to create in a lifetime a L»-vpia in tals imperfect world. It is generally agreed that the production of the better and costir house involves a quite radical departure from present-day building methods, lin which the use of new materials and new uses of old material- tnav be a a important factor. Similarly, it is recognised that good architectural design should reflect the materials used and the method of construction. This does not signify, however, that a radical change must be made in tl;e plan arrangement and the appearance of tne : house.