Evening star., 1938-07-16
BUILDING METHOD
CHANGE
Large-ScaIe Housing May
Develop New Technique
in Town Planning.

Large-scale housing promises to de.
velop a new technique of town build.
ing, attracting the best minds In the
profession of architecture, Sir Ray
Inond Unwin, British housing author
ity, says in report on "The Housing
Problem" appearing In the Octagon
publication of the American Insti-
tute Of Architects.
Hitherto, able architects have been
mainly interested in the few larger
commercial, industrial and cultural
buildings, and have left to the spec
ulative builder the designing of houses
which, though small and relatively
unimportant individually, generally
occupy from 80 to IS per cent of the
area of the town and very largely de-
termine its character and appearance, "
Sir Raymond points out.
"If the building of small dwellings
Is to be undertaken on a large scale
by public authorities quite new con-
ditions arise. Although each individ-
ual house may be small matter, the
planning, design and building of a
large scale housing scheme, cover
ing wide area of land, becomes a
very important undertaking; one
which should command the highest
skill and which offers scope in de-
sign sufficient to inspire the ablest
architects.
Scope Of Design Extended.
There is another aspect of special
interest to architects. The planning
Of large-scale housing projects n-
doubtedly tends to release the scope
of design from the single building,
to which it has for long been too
much confined, to wider field of
relations. The scope is extended to
the grouping Of buildings, to the re-
lations Of differing groups to each
other, to the system Of streets, to open
spaces and to the neighborhood as a
whole.
This may well be the beginning Of
q new technique of town building
through which escape may be found
from the muddle and confusion which
have mainly prevailed during the last
century and has been the chief cause
or excuse for that undue concentra-
ton Of attention and design on the
individual building, which by ignoring
any wider relations has too often in
creased the confusion.
Architects have so long endured
this fate of being set to design single
buildings which may be fianked on
each side by others of the most di-
vergent and incongruous character,
without even the protection of the
gilt frame which the picture artist
enjoys, that they seem often to have
ceased themselves to have any con-
sideration for the neighboring build
tngs. Instead of producing note of
harmony with them, they seem rather
to utter fresh loud note, which, how
ever fine and pure in itself, can but
produce the jangle Of discord when
combined with those uttered by the
two adjacent neighbors."
Development of housing for the
lower income groups on large scale
by public authorities offers a great op-
portunity for raising the standard
of planning and design in the urban
residential areas, according to Sir Ray
mond
Commencing at the bottom of the
scale Of size and cost of the dwell
ings, where the special difficulties are
being surmounted by public aid, If
this section is we'll laid out and de-
signed, standard will be set which
must spread upward, and this may we'll
{S,
Of modern towns from the degraded
muddle Of ill-assorted buildings into
which they have fallen" he explained
eff, however, architects are to make
TO- this movement the contribution
which they might, and to take ad-
vantage of the fine opportunities for
town improvement which it offers,
they must understand the problem and
its conditions, otherwise they will be
unable to cooperate intelligently in
securing the best solution, the best
architecturally as well as socially and
economically"
solution Urgently Needed.
America is now faced with the ur-
gent need to find an effective solution
for the serious housing problem, Sir
Raymond declares. The position" he
adds, "is aggravated by the tendency
to overlook the fact that when the
rate of increase in population di-
nainishes the number of families per
thousand of the population increases.
There is tendency to estimate
the housing need in terms Of the small
increase in the number Of persons,
whereas it is the increase in the num-
Der of families which measures the
need Of dwellings. Now the falling
of in the rate of increase in a popu-
lation generally implies diminution
In the average size of the families, so
that for considerable period small
increase in people may be accom-
panied by large increase In fam
lilies.
I'm England, for example, in the
decade 1921 to 1881 while the popu-
lation only increased SIS per cent,
the number of families increased
Ill per cent, or more than three
times as fast. This means that the
increase in number of dwellings need
ed would be II per cent, not per
cent. This tendency is affecting the
conditions in the United States, and
must greatly aggravate the shortage
due to the small amount of house
building during the recent years of
depression. |