EVOLUTION IN ARCHITECTURE

Wanganui Chronicle, Volume 83, Issue 142, 19 June 1939, Page 10

EVOLUTION IN ARCHITECTURE

THE MODERN TREND. In a review of architecture Prole..--sor W. G. Holford, of London, gives | quotations from articles in successive editions of the Encyclopaedia Britannica to show the* changing trends of architecture, A treatise in the latest edition has this passage: “Architecture was at a low ebb throughout lhe nineteenth century ... a period I that to-day seems to have bee a compounded of pompous and complacent materialism. . . Modern architecture is becoming more truly expressive of contemporary culture; changes indicate that a new flowering of the Renaissance is not impossible. The demand, for beauty is growing on every side ... It may well be that the interest taken from the fine arts by printing will be returned to them by this reasserted will to have things beautiful, and by the accomplishments of the machine. “It is curious,” comments the professor, “with what assurance each j generation treads on the nock of the I previous one to justify itself and climb ■ to its place in the sun. Already one can watch the revolt from many of | the tendencies that are pointed out | with such pride in that, article - ' specialisation, the neat pigeon-holing I of function and beauty in separate' compartments, the universal appli-j cabiltiy of steel construction, the j wholly beneficent nature of all inven- 1 tions, especially mechanical ones, and the business man's faith in bigger and more congested, cities. “Well, steel is certainly the busines man’s favourite material, it builds our factories and commercial houses; but brick and timber and the plastic possibilities of reinforced concrete appeal just as much, if not more, to the architect and artist of to-day. You will notice the last two particularly wherever they are at work, in bridges and underground stations, in flats and country houses, in recreation buildings and seaside pavilions, at lhe airport and at the Zoo. “Twenty years hence we shall know more about reinforced concrete, its construction, its behaviour, and particularly its surface treatment and it is easy to foretell that there will then be refinements and expressive variations on an established standard, quite as remarkable as any that accompanied the growth of the great timber roofs in this country, or of the Gothic masonry of France. “As for specialisation, the present trend is away from that too; we cannot afford it. It is a great problem how to acquire a bird’s eye view of a great many sciences whilst retaining a comprehensive vision of an architect’s main function, the creation of an environment to meet the physical and spiritual needs of mankind. But it is clear that the emphasis will be more and more on the co-ordinating and less on the specialising faculties of the planner.”