Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1923-07-05
The North Window
BY LEILA .MECHLIN.


: why lie IT," said, one of. an inquir-
ing mind to a professional. architect
Of high standing, that there seem Ito
be few architects today, IT, any. who
can: design as well. as did those of
colonial times?" There Is no rea-
son." he said, and the fact is. they
do" But surely" exclaimed the
astonished auestioner. you don't
mean to say that our architects are
producing work today, comparable
with that of the early builders of the
republic. for example. the, University
of Virginia. Tudor Place. the octagon.
in Washington. the early, churches OF
New England" Yes. do, he per
be found in American country houses
today, different from that of colonial
times, but equally as good" Witness
for instance, the suburban homes IN
the vicinity OF Boston, New York ana
Philadelphia; or, to, take q long step,
those very charming country homes
which have been and are being con-
stantly built in California. They, are
not only well designed but frankly
American, and peculiarly, suited TO the
social and climatic requirements, OF
the place and time" ~ =,
This. Is undoubtedly true and 1t is
ging," but 1t refers. for 1.-The
most part to the homes OF those who
are comparatively weil-to-do. not to
the small house or the abode Of the
modest home maker. Unfortunately.
too often such are erected without the
aid or Intervention of the architect.
and have few. II any, pretensions as
unrka IF
This is a time Of year when motor
ing Is one of the chief forms Of recre-
alton, q time when the city dweller
improves and increases his acquaint-
ance with the suburbs. Such tour
fo+the north. of Washington shows an
zfns amount OF building activity
at the present moment, but does not
go far toward indorsing the statement
OF the. eminent authority on archi-
lecture in regard to the present
contrary, It Is an amazement how many
small houses and houses priced at a con :
siderable tamount are being erected
which are poor in design and have no
artistic pretensions, even that or ex-
rtrems simplicity: and the plumbers err
-vious sort. that 1t would seem as
though the: trouble was not lack of
knowledge. but rather OF taste on the
part of the builders.
: There are certain elements OF de-
eign which are SO universal that one
would suppose they would be under
stood almost intuitively. yet 1t is the
nice adjustment of proportions both
in mass and detail which go to make
up a good and satisfying design.
Window and door openings must be
in propoEtion to the SCALE Of the
so placed; that they are in relation
one to. the other. Then comes the
matter. OF ornamentation-det
here. is where tthe designer fails.
either applying the ornament with
too llavishaa. hand so that it becomes
greatly needed. A distinguished
architect once said that the greater
the scale Of the building the more re-
fned must be the ornament, as refine
rnent by way of elegance counterbal-
anced size. AS instances wherein this
theory has been carried out to perfec-
tion we may note the Lincoln Memo
rial in this city and the Woolworth
building in New York.
But to return to The small house,
How absurd it Is to weight an en-
trance down with. columns which
might well support the portico of q
Grecian temple. How foolish to en-
sploy> heavy stills to a window on a
small facade and omit to emphasize
the top of a window! Such windows
eyes without eyebrows. And how in
ftv,c t. 49, q h> to- @
which various houses wear! Some
have such troubled look, others
merely rexed while not q few squirt
and scowl. It;is only the very good
house. that which is we'll designed
which wears an expression of calm
ness. complacence, amiability.
Happily the day Of the tin stone
cornice and the cone shaped turret
seems toi be past. but as the use OF
concrete becomes more common, all
sorts of new yagaries follow in its
train. In many instances the fronts
heavy for the weight of house that Is
behind them, and the detail is clum-
silly handled. But again we are re.
minded that the simple good things
are the hardest to obtain. And yet, al
Daniel H. Burnham once said, beauty
commodity and always will. particu-
larly when beauty is allied to utility
To a greater extent the trouble
with the design of the little house IL
that it has never had an architect fol
a godfather, and the builders of to.
day are for the most part not trained
in their craft as were those In the
early days of the colonies Such
training does not seem possible a.
the present fine, with the rapid pace
and under the pressing condition.
that life is lived. The old colonia
tot- 80
ticularly those in Virginia and South
Carolina. are richly ornamented ir
detail; the roofs Of the porches show
fine carving, as do the holdings il
many Of the rooms. fhe doors. wei
proportioned in accordance with the
extent of the walls. are finely panelet
and beautifully made, as are also tn,
solid fiat shutters to the windows
and this work in many instances wa.
done by craftsmen on the plantations
but craftsmen who were guided il
the matter of design by those WHIT
had made a study of it and who hat
excellent taste. and the times wer,
leisurely. One did not learn in q day
nor complete a work in a matter of 81
many minutes.
&"k
1t is not really necessary. however
to have present conditions continue
AS In every other instance of suppl.
and demand. if the buyer would de
.mand better product he would ge
it. The great trouble is that when 4
comes to architecture the people ar,
apt to give design little thought an,
to feel that it does not matter. Al
Royal Cortissoz said in his address a
the time that the American Insti
tute of Architects gold medal wa
awarded to Henry Bacon. the ma,
behind the building is given too littl
consideration" To the public gener
ally architecture is a: mystery; TIN
architeet,ts regarded falsely as mereI!
q business man, rather than az al
=