Evening star., 1933-08-19
ARCHITECT FACES
DUAL DESIGN TASK
Must Achieve Beauty With
Utility, Historic Survey
of His Art Shows.
BY JAMES WALDO FAWCETT.

of building" But modern WRITER'S arc
not content with so primitive concept:
They vision the subject in the light OF
centuries of accumulated experience ana
observation. and they see tnat Jus.,ce
to the theme implies further exposition.
The Century Dictionary adds to the
art of building" the impressive quallflca-
ton specifically of fine or beautiful
building" 1t then supplies the explain
atory text: Architecture includes, in
the widest sense, Cd the principles OF
design and of ornament as applied to
building; (2) the science of construc-
ton, including the properties OF ma
terials and the methods Of combining
them; and 60 the practice Of construc-
ton, including estimates of cost and the
directing of builders and workmen.
Twin Skill Necessary.
''The practice of this art requires
skill in design, which Is the special
execution, which is the special province
of the workmen whom the architect
employs and directs.
1T is the function of skill in archi-
tectural design to combine in har-
monious scheme the independent and
often hostile requirements Cd of use
and convenience as dictated by the con-
ditions of the problem in hand; CD of
constructive necessity and fitness as de-
termined either by practical experience
or by scientific theory; and 80 of artis-
tic excellence both in the proportion OF
the parts and in the decorative treat
ment of details, in accordance with
either the general principles and can
ons of good taste or the prescriptions
of custom or tradition. 1t is the func-
ton of skill in execution practically to
carry out the scheme so designed; and
this skill is exercised by craftsmen,
surveyors, mechanics. artisans, and art
lists, each in his place.
Architecture is properly distin-
guished from mere building by the
presence of the decorative or artistic
element"
Imagination Demanded.
Harvey Wiley Corbett, himself an
eminent designer. writes in the latest
edition of the Encyclopedia Britannica,
Architecture Gs) the art of so build
ing as to apply both beauty and utility.
The end of architecture is to arrange
the plan, masses and enrichment OF a
structure in such way as to lmpart
to it interest, beauty, grandeur, unity
and power without sacrificing conven-
ience. Architecture thus necessitates
tIlG pOSScSSlOll NY oColSAlCl VI SlCo-
tive imagination as well as technical
skill, and in all works of architecture
properly so called these elements must
exist, and be harmoniously combined" :"
Certain important distinctions are
suggested by Eugene Viollet-le-Duc In
his invaluable Dictionary of Archi-
lecture He says: Architecture, the
art of building, includes two elements,
theory and practice. The former COM
prehends the fine-art side proper, the
body of general rules inspired by taste
and based on tradition. and the science,
which admits of demonstration by
means of invariable and absolute
formulas Practice is the application
of theory to particular needs; it Is
practice which causes the art and the
science to conform to the nature OF
materials, to climate, to the customs Of
a period. or to the necessities of the
occasion"
John Ruskin appears to have had a
similar thought in mind when he
wrote: I'VE require from buildings, as
from men, two kinds Of goodness-f1rst
the doing their practical duty well;
then that they be graceful and pleas
ing in doing it; which last is itself an
other form of duty"
But a curious contradiction occurs in
the case of Francis Bacon, who. living
in the Tudor age and in intimate touch
with one of the very greatest arch1tec-
tural epochs the world ever has known,
still could declare: Houses are built
to live in, not to look upon No
Roundhead Puritan ever voiced more
devastating opinion Of the uselessness
Of beauty.
Shakespeare's Taste Better.
Bacon's celebrated contemporary,
William Shakespeare, Stratford bard
and London poet, had better taste. His
enthusiasm for fine buildings glows
again and again in the text of his plays
For example, in Henry w." Part II
there is the line: Fore God, you have
here a goodly dwelling and a rich" And
in king Lear" there is the axiom: He
that has house to puts head IN has
q good head-piece."
note that Shakespeare was acquainted
with the proper way to plan When
we mean to build" he wrote, Eve first
survey the plot, then draw the model;
and when we see the figure Of the house
then must we rate the cost Of the
erection
voltaire, the incorrigible French
iconoclast, displayed a keen perception
of authentic values in his Judgment
'Simple was its noble architecture
Each ornament arrested, as 1t were. In
its position, seemed to have been placed
there Of necessity"
Yet another supplementary idea L
contained in the "Parentalia" Of Sil
Christopher Wren creator Of st. Paurs
London, and of hundred othel
churches. Architecture" he thought
'aims at eternity; and therefore is the
only thing incapable of modes anC
fashions in its principles"
Social Significance Seen.
From Wren also comes the following
statement of the social significance o1
the art: Architecture has its politica
uses. Public buildings being the orna'
ment of country, it establishes ma.
tion, draws people and commerce, make!
the people love their native country"
A. D. F. Hamlin, in a memorable
passage in his History of Architecture,
leads up to the same conclusion: "l
history of architecture is a record o.
mans efforts to build beautifully. tn,
erection of structures devoid of beaut.
is mere building, trade and not an art
Ediflces in which strength and stabilit.
alone are sought, and in designing il
which only utilitarian consideration
have been followed, are properly work
OF engineering. Only when the idea o
beauty is added to that of use does
structure take its place among work
Of architecture.
I'VE may, then, define architecture q
the art which seeks to harmonize in
building the requirements of utility an
of beauty. It is the most useful Of tn
fine arts and the noblest Of the usefu
arts TT touches tho life of mo n Of ovoy