New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1877-02-17
AESTHETICS OF EVERY-DAY LJPR
MR.. MITCHELDs SECOND LEcJrrBp


FITNESS, STRENGTH, DURABILITY - woon
DECoRATIoS-CITY AND COUNTRY HOUSES VIC
FR0M An OCCASIONAL CORRESPONDENT oP THE rpfs,-x,,
HAVEN, Feb. 14.-Thc audience roon
OF the Yale Art School again hed TO lie u,mo.,
capacity this evening with those WAC desired 10 he..
Mr. Donald @. Ntchels second lecture n, o.
Eslbet.cs OF Everyday Life" Although living IN tho,
midst, it may be said, the people Of NewHayea r,s
have an opportunity Of hearing Mr.. Mitchell and an a.,
who he accommodated awaiting OF IN.
privilege Of hearing him now. The speaker began NV
saying that in his first lecture he spoke OF N.
rulings OF taste In connection with our deal,u,,
with natural surfaces; he would now sneak ~
the rulings Of good taste in eonpectio.
with material shelters against wind and storms wbu.
only an expert talk OF the fullest reach OF the Law, a
design and construction, proper shelter Of our bomes
and Offices concerns everybody, and man OF ayerazs
cultivation ard intelligence may Judge " its efficiency
and beauty. painter may Reasonably object whas
he calls lay judgment; but In architecture there ara
some few fundamental characteristics OF which mar
freely speak And first among these is fitness. II the
shelter Is intended for cattle, IL should be undoublei
shelter; If the structure is designed for pubic
Offices all the needs OF public ofice-amps
space good light, and every ACKNOWLEDGEMENT
be provided; If for private dwellings, all Do
nestle wants should be met There should be
no leakages no smoky chnDeys no crampng hall.
ways and the ful6liment Of all these wants Should u
lar as possible have expression in outer contour and f.
terror features. Above all there should be preens
Everything should be honest and real Strength b
another necessary feature. The building should b
strong solid aud durable. This does not imply that the
material used should be ndestructble but the structure
should stand sturdily and firmly upon s foundation. Ii
is possible that by the OF the material used
skill in construction strength may be obtaired
which does not appear to the eye This may b
more economical but asthetieally 1t Is not
satisfactory. We do not want to infer strength
but to see it. A third point OF importance
in good architec tural work is proportion tall gsuns
house, or low squat one is subject to condemnahon
expressed In the terms used to describe them The lave
OF proportion largely dependent upon fitness Beon
we can say building has wholly good Proportionsw
must first know for what it is to be used lighthouses
10 be tower.like structure while building INTENDED
for a farmery in nook of the hills suggests mac
ing OF low roofs together.
These principles great desderata in all arcsi'e
ture They lie-a Of them-a the back OF that deconE
tive treatment which makes and distinguishes whath
called style OF architecture. We are apt 10 lose hght@
the fact that style is exterior rather than an essential
element and that il we build at any particular epoch,
aiming at solidlty OF structure and grace Of outline We
shall come to style-not necessarily novel one bus
one which shall assimate with wants the best teach
ings OF all styles. The special style OF any epocl-astm
Greek the Renaissance, and the Gothe-eApresses the
elimination Of the outfeelng Of that epoch and thess
various styles cannot mix any more than one can NIX
the balladry OF Homer with the contempatye speh Vi
Wordsworth There can be 10 lifting arehi'ee'nfeet
ceptit be full OF the expression Of modern life and need
The best OF repetitons mere archeoloslc cuTios
eau anything be done for railway architec'ure'
Everything that relates TO railway stations denancs
admiration TO convenience comfort, and fTee movement
The conditions involved do not admit OF any eaDorauon
of conventional rules but the wants Of the position are
none the less 10 be met, and may be met with sueh
marshang OF artistic treatment In their courts cofn
DORIS balconies clock towers &C. as shall count wen iof
the development of architecture
The lecturer here entered into consideration OF what
good decoration should consist in II should be allied 10
and emphasize structural features and especially should
this be true of ordinary work Fair and honest mdieS
tons of strength and supporting power are Themselves
an ornaments and the worst Of all decoration Is mat
which conceals structure No features of architecture
should be puzzle 20 test guesser but Should DC openly
nobly and beautifully decorative OF purpose Again'
there should be redundance OF ornament-ho co'eus
up OF and simple wall surface ihere Is 700 s'
fear Of utterly simple wall spaces Tie material Of tho
ornaments and the main structure Should ma'en per.
sectIr This being the Gaze, they will both grow all
together and the harmony will always we piesNea m,
The speaker now Imagined himself IlH H. hearers rae
street OF any CITY, and brought before MS @
nnpicturesge view presented by row OF Ds n,d
houses He does not agree with Br husA,n tn
ms for trade purposes cannot ever have architecture
and oyabIe character All buildings for human U.s.
of all those for eycryday nses anI W any
s1crifce OF their utility. Close cry wv, ~
ings have the same narroSnsss w aicnny and thss
In vo sort OF artistic decoration or Iollage cney
about the II is hard indeed TO CONCEIVE o, n
American habit OF building four or fve narrow sesnou
ngs raised one above the other But tneIe Is D" %
iSe windows be grouped and poised aud set on sng OF
hung ont in bays and have their varied %
There is no occasion tor running iionages w
c,ilIiLe apertuIes no occasion for the shrhEage Vi d
snooes Further advantages OF presenting sum sun 800
views are the free, CHEEKY en'raaeeway ana seh s
rtvc treotment OF its porch and intes as TO dise'g
and enroble the whole structure IHele u "'s Ii
S,lg t,a ,he city methods. The best type OF .
home il found in the suburbs, where room y hs,u
the expression Of ndiy@Da so ad vafy lust as hc
faces And first. is the NewEngiana ho,st nv VIM sna al
breezy hail sweeping through MS center o az and
climbs to the second story; VITA It's porch ins rar
gable breaking intO the center OF It's Sipo o,isn
less pleasing is il when II Shows iOreeu a., y
M Ieiuyenatibn, which destroys Tie ciu hnnss
comfort. There is much TO coiiea IL sist aIterson
barring the low ceilihgs-ahd sOhe snSl INT c.rs
may be made and a few ornaments aouon, "
should he taken that the matter he not oyerone
The outIyny houses which have SMACK oi ela, ,rs
I'm their colonn dcs, the English ana medleNaI ns+
with their domestic look, aud othet iQinas aaSers
which are not classabe under amy Historic n, uni whcu
dwell pon and their characteristics OfOuSnl o, ~ sra
the suburban house WAS again taken up of
fianH
The OF individual taste. That drgee u NO,
mr. nrecison which street work demands III he o mar
vr5ent or imperative Irregularities are nor on new
arsoeahe 10 the eye OF art, but SANCTIONED " u "A
nf aud convenience of home wants. Coiors Sa o mo
strong r rich as along city walks they are ,. q
oiaVc ,eiation with the great oyermas,erihs u"""
0reensvard and clouds and sky. ,,, .,,s,,e the
tnnthcr clement enters into bousebuildng i,n,rs
-, v,och can hardly be considered within Hs n ,s,
and mat is fitness to adaptation OF site In towns mere
cinolitics make the town site In the cons ,,n and
M onnortnny 10 study the preliminary adap,slOr ia
condi,,on of ground-a theory OF vital mporan,, r G
theory which the Greeks In their Dcst nay dcrpon
ght Of AS 10 The material there should ne no W ~ Ion.
IT. Ine budlng Is made OF brick, IL should the Of
pitndlual bands OF color aud It's s,ruclu eorslioa
rellef III of stone there should be hoiuey 81 wood
OF lis colors aud it, crystalline fractures ont Of the
those decorative features which are n..tg inate The
onestion with brick and stone should s",Ieso
.enr MS clnscd with reference 10 thr y. iaxs o.