New-York tribune., 1922-04-23
Homes Must Be Arckitectur].n
Good to Interest Buyers To.do''
Difference Between Good and Bad Plann;n.
nized by Most Homeseekers; ''Stock, pI. '"cog
Have BECOME Popular Receptf,, ~
By l.. Porter Moore


Prcsidcnt Of Homc Owners SerOic'
Institute
With the Improvement Of public taste
in architecture and tho many change
witnessed in houses design in America
over the last thirty years, good archi-
tecturaI planning Of the small home
is given much more thought and CON
sideration by the prospective home
builder and home buyer to-day than a
| generation ago.
In the 8Os and '90s, only the larger
and more important residences we're
designed by architects. even though
per cent Of tho total cost was then as
much as m architect asked for his
services. House plans were turned out
with very little, if any, thought and
study being given to interiors "a com
positions. If sectional drawings were
made they usually were intended to in
tcrpret only floor and ceiling heights
the framing pieces in floors and in the
roof, and such major construction de-
tails
Changes Years Have Brought
To-dny all this has changed. A
houee is considered in its entirity- in
perspective as we'll as in four e!eva-
/ tions and it has become evident that
all the principal rooms must be studied
and developed through large scale de
tailed working drawings. Thus sets
I of plans for four, fivc and six-roorn
houses nave become three times "a
! bulky as the plans for the mansion Of
many rooms and wings built in 1880,
/ with the result that professional ar
chitect's fees have had 10 be increased
in proportion.
This is the reason for the American
Institute Of Architects advocating the
! production and sale at low cost 70 the
prospective home builder Of standard
! ized sets of working drawings md
/ specifications for small houses Like
wise the new Bureau of Housing and
/ Construction created recently in the
| Department of Commerce under Sec
retary Herbert Hoover is aiding in the
standardizjng and production Of SO
called "stock" sets of plans from
which small houses, archtecturally
correct, can be built without the aid
Of supervising architect. This cuts
the building cost for the family Of
moderate means.
In co operation with this effort TO
stimulate the building Of more and bet
ter homes from good architectural
plans The Tribune each Sunday pub
fishes a small house design for which
complete working drawings and speci-
fications have been standardized in the
officers Of the Home Owners Service In
stitute.
This does not eliminate the ARCH
tect. Competent architects have de-
signed all of these plans, but they are
the prospective builder, who has his
choice of many designs. The Ameri-
can Institute OF Architects has gone
on record with the statement that up 10
and including six rooms building from
stock plans IS practical and saves
money for the owner
When to Hire an Architect
For houses Of over six rooms the
American Institute Of Architects ad-
VlSes the owner to employ an architect
throughout the process Of planning and
building. But only in rural districts
and IN small cities can the architect
be found to-day who viii charge as low
as per cent for his fee in connec-
ton with the planning and supervision
during the actual construction of the
house.
In New York and other large cities
the rate for residence arcb1tectnraI
worH in many Offices is 10 per cent
rms is the fee for small house work
under the code Of ethics Of the Amer
lean institute OF Architects 1t Is fully
earned, tor TINS service as demonstrated
oy production of plans. details and
Specihcations which must please the
y" i'er, hecessltates many conferences
and alterations before the design is
accepted by the owner, and supervision
IS prodlglous when compared with the
o,G days, with plenty OF labor avail
ape and materials much less costly
tnan to-day.
But the fact that a possible 10 ner
cent tee is well-earned does not nartie.
u!arly appeal to the person who is nIsn-
III nihg TO bulld house of moderate cos+
therefore, plan service has been made
available through quite few rel;abIe
e chanhels TOT that person who cannot
really afford to employ an architect yst
desires a "eIl-planned home.
Lenders Approve Tribune S-r;as
l.h respect to the protection Of an
investment in a home. William
Iarter' president of the Metronoi;ra,
League OF Savings and Loan Assoc;aI
eIohs' Vlce-pre resident Of the New Sort
state League, and chairman Of tha u;
n9 tancla! Committee OF the New Yort
.T,' Twn our Home" Exposition, states.
ne 'yPe' character and class of homs /
cet ~ ~ uu.iu "a WI determine the return Won
seet on the dollars you spend ThsSSa W
lore most important factor in ar.t
o11ring o1 yourself of satisfactory horna
W src ch;to' saIe' sure investment value is thu
1,,;iJ1 11,G;ili.ectural plan you choose and tbe
4~muer ;rn1,, you select to erect your home
ihe plans published from, n.ao,.
week IN The Tribune I am fs,r;I;so ~
!li I" !}h. Savings and loan assoc;at;nns
',,r yp uo' 'oan mortgage money to An
'@ner ~: unless the house plans nass 40 an an
''Icers 1,, OF the loaning association '"'
taxa ,m Inese twentieth century davs o+
stock plans so-csI,oJ
,re ,,e nnother forward step; another ;n,'
'ioVement IN the field of architec+rra .l
Europe Has Taught Us