The New York herald., 1921-11-13
AESTHETIC INVESTMENT THAT PAYS REAL DIVIDENDS
Architectural Beauty Increases Rental Returns in Build
ings and Thus Has Direct Influence on Property
Values Declares Authority on Design - lnsures
Against Reduction of Income as Structures Grow Old
BY LEON ". soLON.

BY LEON ". SOLON,
Treasurer Of the New York Architec-
tectatral League.
When visual Impressions are capable
of exerting a direct influence upon ma
terial issues the stimulation OF those I'M
pressions is subject worthy of con-
sideration. In building projects for the
erection of high grade business premises
their varying degrees of attraction for
the public is due to their greater or
lesser architectural pretension. This i'm
presses the fact upon US that concen-
tration on the subject Of treatment in
design is a profitable investment Of
thought.
With the rapid architectural Develop
ment OF American cities their inhabi-
tantS have acquired an automatic habit
of unconscious appraisal of the ethical
advantages which tenants might enjoy
through occupancy or structure OF q
certain quality. Deductions formulate
themselves from q visual impression as
to whether the tenants are likely to pur-
sue exclusive or heterogeneous vocations
and whether the businesses housed are
rated first or second class. These de-
ductions are no longer influenced as
they were some years ago, by ostenta-
tious expenditure In costly building ma
terial and elaborate fixtures; 1t Is
purely a question of architectural treat
ment. Independent of obvious advan-
tages. such, for example, as costly loca-
tions, those who invest in structural
ventures Of this character have acquired
a very general conviction that buildings
possessing certain architectural qualities
l,a. ,tt %, mr.
Of complex and reflex nature, which
are a decided enhancement of the In
vestment also that when those qualities
are minimized a corresponding deprecia-
ton in results may be expected. regard
less of the structural quality OF the
building or the material used.
Architecture. meaning beauty in struc-
ture, has always performed powerful
ethical function In the histories of civil
ization, precisely through its capacity OF
imaginative stimulation in mentalities
OF all calibres. 1t stands apart from Its
sister arts Of painting and sculpture in
its ability to create mental reactions of
certain kinds, in the minds of those who
are devoid of the artistic sense, the two
other arts demanding primarily the gift
of aesthetic perception for their appreci-
alton and enjoyment. The mental reac-
tions which 1t stimulates in the un-
trained mind do not necessarily operate
In the aesthetic sphere; they result In
definite conclusions. bearing upon those
attributes wt4ch. .epitomize the charac-
teristics OF various human activities and
institutions.
Modern commercial enterprise has
evolved novel methods of procedure.
whereby the action and reaction Of indi-
rect and abstract factors are carefully
analysed, estimated and utilized. We
have cultivated the practice OF tracing
the result to the remotest cause, and OF
dissecting circumstances into their con-
tributory elements. A newborn conf
dence in our capacity to discern such
things leads US frequently to accept the
symbol of success or prosperity in cases
in which the preceding generation would
have recognized only financial data as
the initial step to commercial relations.
In matters of minor Importance 1t
amuses US to assume a hypothesis from
an observation of a condition. as being
less tedious than careful investigation.
Our impulsive habit of deduction tends
to identify dignifed business premises
with financial stability despite the fact
that we are all aware that the acumen
Of the shoestring operator causes him to
be fastidious on the subject of scenic
setting.
II MOdiu bC ouPNihuOuS "
the manners in which architecture was
advantageously utilized as the great
creator of impressions in former ages.
By its character in design the fortress
acquired an air of impregnability which
bred discourasenent In the hearts or It's
attackers; in the religious ediflces of all
times it aided that desirable detachment
from mundane matters. BY the aid
Of magnificent structural effects rulers
maintained n prestige which In the ma
Jority OF cases their personalities could
neither gain nor nstptain. To-day these
psychic properties in structure are being
developed on less simple lines to meet
the variety and individuality of our
varied requirements. Architectural de-
sign still remains a powerful medium
for national and theistic propaganda.
but in its new capacity 1t has become a