Evening star., 1952-06-25
Architects Convention
Continues Attack on
Federal Competition
BY Robert J. Lewis
Star Stoff Correspondent

NEW YORK, June 25.-Archi-
tects in private practice aimed a
new barrage here today against
Government competition, in what
appeared to be a declaration of
all-out war against the practice of
architecture by Government bu-
reauS.
Yesterday the American Insti-
tute of Architects 84th annual
convention assailed the public
buildings service of the General
Services Administration. on the
score it was supplying design serv-
ices for three private Washington
hospitals.
Today a report Of the commit
tee on the architect and the Gov
ernment called for increasing
employment of n-Government
architects on Government work,
and scored governmental "inroads"
on private practice.
The committee pointed out it
received last year many reports
on the serious encroachment of
governmental architectural bu-
reaus across the country, from the
well-entrenched municipal archi-
tect's office in Washington, D. c.,
to the great State organization of
California"
Building Ban Lessons Work.
At the same time, the commit
tee informed the conventions g.
600 delegates, the average archi-
tect in private practice is faced
with shrinkage of normal work
due to the restriction on construc-
tion caused by the defense emer-
gency."
So important do the Nations
organized architects consider Gov
ernment work to be that they have
recently set up a special subcom-
mittee to deal with the question.
They are likewise preparing to
publish guide instructing archi-
tectural groups on how to fight |
"inroadS" on private practice.
The committee said it had found
that the most effective program
to extend private architectural
practice is the positive statement: |
The private architect can do the
job better than the Government
bureau.
Earlier. the institute announced
honor award winners for 1852.
and delegates heard the Washing
ton metropolitan area praised as
being in the forefront of COM
munlties seeking to deal with the
traffic problem.
The three top architectural
honorS went to New York's glass
and-metal Lever House, head
quarters of the Lever Brothers Co.
designed by Skidmore. Owings and
Merrell, of New York; Los
Angeles Office building designed
by William S. Beckett, of Los
Angeles: and a resort project at
Maple Valley, Washington State,
designed by the Seattle firms of
Young and Richardson and Carle-
ton and Detlie.
Worst Traffic Jam.
Yesterday, Pyke Johnson, presi-
dent of the Automotive Safety
Foundation told delegates the
country is now experiencing it's
worst traffic jam owing to the
virtual doubling of the number of
trucks and passenger cars since
the end of World War II.
In Washington, he pointed out,
the District Commissioners some
time ago set aside 81 provisions of
the building code to enable con-
Struction of an experimental park |
ing garage in the 1400 block of K
street NV.
Mr.. johnson also cited Arling-
ton, Va. as an example of a jurls-
diction which has taken the step
of requiring builders to incorpo-
rate parking space in plans for
new apartments, Office buildings
and theaters.
Such regulations" he said.
represent recognition of the
seriousness of the problem and a
positive step in the direction of
meeting it on a long-range basis. "