DOMESTIC ARCHITECTURE

Ladies' Mirror, Volume 2, Issue 8, 1 February 1924, Page 17

DOMESTIC ARCHITECTURE

R. K. BINNEY, A.N.Z.I.A.

The dream of an ideal home is part of every man and woman’s heritage. We look forward to the time when we shall he able to build a home of our own which will not only be pleasing to the eye and possess the acme of comfort, but will also be within the reach of our pockets. Mr. Binney is writing for The Ladies’ Mirror a series of articles which will deal with this subject from all aspects and contain a large amount of valuable information and advice to serve as a guide to prospective owners of homes, who have limited capital to expend. Sir Edwin Lutyens, 11. A., under whom Mr. Binney studied, is acknowledged one of the outstanding architects of modern times. Though he is known to many only as the creator of the Cenotaph at Whitehall and as the builder of the new Imperial City of Delhi, his simplicity of taste, and the perfect proportions of his work, in which lie his art, are invested in even the most modest and economical of his creations. The same architect who can plan a mighty city such as the new capital of Hindustan, costing millions of pounds sterling, can yet design the modest home within the means of the ordinary citizen.

INURING the three years or so which immediately followed the war, the building of a house partook somewhat of the nature of an adventure. All the uncertainty and excitement attaching to adventure was provided by the fluctuating prices of materials and more so of labour, to say nothing of the shortage of both. Builders would not give a fixed tender, and workmen, knowing that their services were in just demand, forced up their wages and at the same time lowered their output. There is still a feeling abroad that the present is not a favourable moment to embark upon the enterprise of building, and some are inclined to think that the dream of an ideal home must still remain a mere dream for another year or two, when, perhaps, prices will have reached a more normal level. But are things really so bad, and is there so much reason to wait as the prophets of evil would have us believe? It is now possible to call for tenders and to know before the building is commenced what the cost of this work will be, unless alterations and additions are made by the owner after the work is commenced. Another sound method is to have very careful bills of quantities prepared beforehand on which contractors will form tenders. By this method, at the completion of the building, it has often been found to cost under the sum originally stated by the owner.

In building a bouse, as in other matters, you will have to cut. your coat according to your cloth; usually some compromise will have to be made so that the two will lit. Often a client will come with many illustrations of beautiful interiors of rooms of bouses belonging to wealthy Americans taken from papers, and describe the house he wishes to build, with its large ball, reception rooms, and billiard room; its bedrooms, each with its own bathroom; its front and back staircase —in fact, a very complete house of considerable sizeand on being asked bow much he proposes to spend, mentions a sum that would build a respectable bungalow! The cost of a house rests with the propective owner, If an architect lias designed and made a success of larger houses,- costing anything over £3,000, it does not mean that he is not capable of designing a house, say, to cost £ISOO, or even £750. In the case of the smaller house, much is left to the proportion of the rooms, the correct placing of doors and windows and simple treatment of fireplaces, and the restful colouring of the interior walls. The well-planned kitchen should have as many labour-saving devices as the money will allow. The after-war conditions, with the attendant high cost of labour, has had an influence on house-building, and an influence, I think, for the good. It has tended to give simplicity to our houses. It is expensive enough to

produce plain walls and roof without the quips and quirks that so often give modern houses a look of self-conscious striving after effect. We must depend on good proportions, mass and quality of materials. If we gain these Ave can attain something fine without frills. Do not try to put every separate feature that you like into one house; choose your motif, and carry it through the whole of your building. One often sees (in the majority of the smaller houses) where money has been unnecessarily spent on “pretty” gables, windows, and other embellishments. This money could have been more wisely spent in using better materials. Correct proportion and simplicity of line would have been more economical and the result more pleasing. If the building of a good house were an easy matter, and if the layman could really deal with it in a satisfactory manner, there would not be such a large number of impossible houses about as there are. Seeing that the art of architecture not only involves the comfort of each one of us in our private houses, but also hits us in the eye whenever we go outside our homes, it seems extraordinary how little is known and how little interest is taken by the public in domestic architecture. The public did not realise the difficulties an architect had to contend with in submitting estimates to his clients between the. years 1919 and 1922, when buildings were being erected on the ten per cent, basis. Throughout New Zealand this state existed. Architects could only give approximate estimates, and even after making all reasonable allowances for increased cost of labour, materials and contingencies, would be often 50 per cent, out at the completion of the work. The building trade was in a state of chaos. The contractor’s main object was to get the work put through. He went into the labour and material markets and bought regardless of rates and prices. Under these conditions no architect or owner knew what the cost would be until all accounts were paid.

It is interesting' to note the rapid increase of cost of building between the years 1914 and 1922. In 1915 there was an increased cost of 17% 101 „ „ „ „ „ „ 32% 1918 „ „ „ „ „ „ 70% 1919 „ „ „ „ „ „ 98% 1920 „ „ „ „ „ „ 123% 1021 „ „ „ „ „ „ 135% 1922 „ „ „ „ „ „ 101%

One often hears people say, particularly perhaps one’s hostess, that the house she is showing you is really her own design. When you express your admiration of this skill and cleverness, she may add, “Of course, I did get Mr. So-and-so to help me to put things into shape a bit, but it’s really all my own idea.” If the house is orderly and well planned and has architectural merit, one can only surmise that Mr. So-and-so was not only a skilled and tactful architect who knew his business, but also a man who knew how to guide his clients into the right paths, while leaving them with the sense that it was much of their own work. It is generally supposed that an architect is employed merely to draw out plans of ideas originated by his employers, possibly to overcome some of the difficult problems, such as staircases and roofs, and then by means of tenders to beguile the builder into undertaking a contract at less than he would otherwise demand for the work.

Such collaborations have existed : they are, as a rule, unfortunate while they last, and disastrous in result. The employer blames the architect for defects which are really his own fault, while the architect consoles his professional pride by the reflection that the owner has to live in the house. In reality, the business of an architect is a very different matter. He is really the master builder, and his success depends largely on his power of controlling both his employer and the building which is being erected. R. K. Binnky. . [Note. —In the next article the writer will illustrate with plans various houses suitable for New Zealand, giving their 1914 and the approximate present-day cost. — Editress Ladies’ Mirror.]