Evening public ledger. [volume] (Philadelphia [Pa.]) 1914-1942, 1920-11-08
PROF. PAUL p. CRET
On the Growth Of American Architecture

THE present and future of American
l architecture are something to be opti-
mistic about. in the opinion Of Paul +. Cret.
professor of architectural design at the Uni
versity of Pennsylvania and n prominent
architect.
"More and more said Or. Cret, 'this
country is giving expression to its " IN
diyiduality, until it can be fairly said that 1t
has an architecture all its own that is as
distinctly national as that of any other
country.
''Fo that reason l do not believe that the
war will exert a very great influence on the
architecture Of this country. 1t Is true that
many of our architects went over to the
other side to fight in the late war, but that
fact will have little to do with any influences
on this country's architecture.
"As a matter Of fact, during the war
many Of the men never had an opportunity
to study the architecture of other countries:
They were likely quartered in some small
village or in n devastated section where they
could Scarcely study any European archi'
lecture to advantage.
another thing to be considered Is the
fact that most architects have had Il pretty
close acQuaintanceship with the architecture
of the old country without even going over
there. To many of their clients, too, Europe
is an old story, so that any recent impress
sions gained are not likely to be very deep.
ITO understand this point more clearly.
it must be realized that the architecture Of
every country is likely to be separate and
distinct and necessarily cannot be very
greatly influenced by that of another
country.
Differing Views Of Architecture
Architecture, az the architect under
stands it and as the layman understands 1t.
are two different things. To the latter it is
a matter Of general outline and decoration,
while to the former 1t Is n matter Of con
sidering the conception az a whole with re-
gard to the needs which 1t expresses and the
demands which a particular type of struc-
ture has made upon 1t.
Thus q railway station in one locality
is likely to differ essentially from one in an
other. Just az there will probably be a strik-
ing difference at two different periods of
time. Hotels vary In construction and type
in various places and more particularly at
various times. Thus about every ten years
n hotel Is likely to change Its needs com
nlctely and, consequently, it's design.
with a private home. the proposition is
somewhat different. People live a great part
of the time in the same way and entertain
in much the same way and. consequently.
the layout of a house, its lines and other
features arc not so likely to change funda-
mentally from time to time.
But peoples taste does change and al
most constantly. Home architecture Is
largely governed by whims, and for that
reason we are likely to see reflected in the
home influences from the Orient. from
spain, from Italy, France or England.
con the whole, you will find that these
influences are not those Of the present age.
however. At the present time, for instance.
there Is a strong Italian influence in many
homes, but it is of the middle age period,
about the fifteenth century. There is some
French influence in broad lines, if not de-
tail. But again it is of the Louis XIV or
XIV period. not the present.
Like Things Different
This Is not so difficult to understand
when you consider that the individual likes
the charm of the old. the archaeological
features of architecture, and also likes to
do something just a little bit different than
anybody else.
THAT IL one reason why, perhaps, the
architecture Of earlier ages was more dis
~tipctiyc than the present. 1t was less
adaptable to change than now. Thus one
can put in an extra bathroom or make sim
liar changes with comparative ease now.
"Such changes would have been out Of
the question In an earlier age. The needs of
the community, although they did change
then, did not change so much as they do
nov. The people Of that age, too, were
more concerned with the needs and thoughts
Of their own period than those Of any that