The sun., 1910-04-10
NEW SCHOOL OF ARCHITECTURE
DEI ELOPED ~ SPECIALISTS
N CONCRETE DESIGN.

Areast,e Merit aa Vel 90 CsaafoSt and
Duraeanay No~ Ftnais tsNPgessiSa ln
neenfoPeen Coarreae WOgk HOW ths
ldea Mas GP0SH-hs NoN 81 Features.
Three or four years ago. when con-
crete nrst heRan 60 come into extensive
uss IN mis- city in buildings N well a. IN
strictly enGinsering work. a we'll known
NV York broker went to an equally
veil known New York architect and ssked
the latter "a design for him . CO, HTy
hSsa.a which would be % concrete from
fouHdation TO roof top.
Ths architect threw up hIs hands IN
-siisnay. MY dear fellow" he said.
-aoa't you know that concrete house
b q uely a. ain and that it's 40 cold and
damn ana chserleas - q tomb, And
hsatries that Il would cost you . third 40
much aeain a a house % frame or oe
hriekp Whv. wouIdn't live IN q conrrcte
hoUsas N Il were given to me; and as for
desiRninR such q house Tor frsend-
thaa's out of the question.
But" the broker said. the concrete
Idea appeals 20 ms. Hyou pat IN house
of concrete h atays pa, for all time and
. h wears like Old Gibraltar hseN. Rain
~ 91umnluGs 0DBt " NVsNs Wv" -
lightning are all the same to concrete
bouse-
That's an very we'll returned the
architect. -n you want to build rail-
road embanknent "r q bridge or put
up . Gov stable ON . model dairy farm.
but 10 you want to build an artistic country
home take my advice and forget all
about concrete
The broker went to another architect
vino told him practically tho same story.
No went 70 a third man and vas told the
came tale again. Apparently the leading
designers Of houses. in New York city AZ
least. looked upon concrete With un-
qualified disfavor except. a. they said.
fer purposes utilitarian rather than
artistic.
That was four or hve yeas ago To-
day concrete houses are COMING Ia bn the
gashion in the country roundabout New
York. and what IN moro important q dis
tinet school of concrete design u develop
ing among the leading architects of this
city. just at present there are at least
half . dozen specialists who do admirable
work in concrete and who devote their
attention 70 IL exclusively.
An one of these specialists expressed "
II don't claim that concrete Is the hest
building material in the world. for ~ has
In faults just a. every other building 2
massrial has; but do claim that when
q 10 done right IL has certain advanta ges
thss none % the other staples can Offer
Cor example. solidity and weather re-
siefing power. and q certain dignity that
q frame house never can possess. Also
claim that when q man has made a special
study of concrete he can mould it into
forms that are decidedly pleasing tn the
eye. Mind you. I am talking about solid
reenfOrcsd concrete. not about stucco
or cement blocks or terra Gotta tiIes which
masqusrAde under the broad title oI con-
orsss and yet do not pcssess the essential
features Of that material
-Ths early designers Of oOncrste homes
failed 20 produce attractive results be-
cAslss they lacked originality. They fol-
loved cut and dried rlIlea and formulas
and attempted 20 buiId stone houses from
dpsi@ns that we're suitable only 20 wooden
dwellings. The result was unqualified
failure.
Then q certain man. who had origi-
80 be unaffected by ridicule. came along
and drew plans for a country house that
Nas entirely novel. He made q hit
Why Because he had the right idea.
He cut loose from old established
schools and set up = school of his o~n
the latent artistic capabilities of concrete.
which had been there all along but which
hitherto had been neglected because of
foolish prejudice. Nowadays n you take
q trip ten miles out into the country IN
slnost sny direction you ~ill see at least