The Minneapolis journal. [volume] (Minneapolis, Minn.) 1888-1939, 1906-04-15
GOOD AND BAD DESIGN
Artistic Merits of a House Must Be
. Judged as Whole. -

practical use land it Is dlttlcult TO
think of any building which has not1)
we ought to consider nrst if i IS well
suited to it's use without needless COM
'nHcation: in short, it must conform to
the great law Of simplicity. A bulld-I
ing should accomplish its practical ends
by the most direct means. says Robert t
G.. Spencer. Jr, in the closing article
of his series on EXPLAINING the House."
in the House Beautiful. .s&-F |:
A building, or let us say 4 house,
since we. are planning houses, should t
be Judged first as whole rather than
piecemeal. :. -. t.
A house is not we'll designed if It
has only pretty porch Or charming
| bay window to catca and please the
| eye The whole is greater than Its
parts; the masses Of more Importance
than the details; the details more I'M
portant in their relation to the whole
than in themselves.
It matters not how good the details
may be-, they are largely thrown away
| if the composition Of thC building as
whole is bad.
The composition should be simple,
but it's simplicity, need not imply bare
ness, poverty of enlistment Or Of IN
teresting incident The law Of sim
q qs2ys and .afs IN ny are rTnhty
observance expressed In any work or
art appeals to us directly and power
fully. They imply the homogeneous
rather than the eterogeneous--order as
opposed to confusion-a definite key
and every note true
In suburban and country house ar
chitecture, the roof is peculiarly i'm
portant element Of composition, quite
is the browning portion of the mass,
and is nearly always very definitely
silhouetted against the sky. Many an
+ otherwise good house has been spoiled
Fly clumsy handling Of roofs. -.
There are certain common errors OF
roof design which appear in perhaps
every other house, which would not
occur if the laws of simplicity and
harmony were applied as a test Of de-
, All minor roofs should harmonic
| with each other, and with the main
! roof as far as possible. If the main
roof is gabled, the law Of harmony
l demands that the minor roofs OF
l porches, wings, bays, etc, be also
r gabled.
= Roofs which are closely related
| should, if possible, be made Of :. thu
t ! same slope or pitch, otherwise thei
lines and surfaces will not harmonic
from any point Of view, and there viii
}. be a clash and discord of lines ant
masses.
Roofs which are decidedly subordi
nate may be given an individual treat
J.. ment of their own, particularly if they
repeat Here we may enjoy piquan
contrast. The larger and holder tn
t subordinate masses or features of
s house, the more important it is that tn
e roofing of these masses or features b.
r in perfect harmony with the roofing O.
the main mass.
v The simplicity and breadth of thu
II mass Of a house depend primarily upool
n ground plan. The smaller, the hous
h the greater the necessity Of simplicit,
,r Of scheme. Numerous breaks, excres
cences, and Creatures" should b
Or avoided. Too many designers strive TO
,e originality, without rhyme or reason
3, and their buildings, as a consequence
r. becomes "busy' all over, with no quie
m surfaces or long lines to rest the eye
se or to serve as q foil for some one ef
" entrance or small porch.
he Windows Of half dozen diferen
in types and shapes appear in the sam
OF building, each fighting for recognition
The walls of cottages are pierced wit
ne great plateglass filled openings, instea
r. of with modest sash, in keeping wit
sit the character of the building. Fac
IS dormer is different from every othe
he there are bays and towers, and at tn
GU peak Of each roof is an unquiet fnia
While it is true that mass and gener;
is composition are more important tina
int details, these latter may add much
or the effectiveness Of the whole, partic1
our larly to those who are daily brought
EN- contact with them at close range.
Use Whatever there is of decorative trea
lid ment, should be effectively placed, ar
gs. not scattered about haphazard, here al
est there. Whether the decoration be
ich the form Of sculpture, color decoratio
our or the enrichment Of glass, it shou
the be consistent with the general chara
va FOR ~ the hni11ino r.-