1932-08-06 — Page 2

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HONG KONG DAILY PRESS SATURDAY, AUGUST 6, 1932.

ENGINEERING AND BUILDING

THE NEW SPIRIT IN ARCHITECTURE.

A BREAK WITH THE TRADITIONS OF THE PAST.

THE AGE OF FERRO-CONCRETE.

enlled it a

BY PROFESSOR C. H. REILLY

From Roman Ooncrete to Forro-

Concrete.

EAST AND WEST.

German Shipping

C

THORNYCROFT. MARINE

ENGINES.

TRIBUTES TO THEIR RELIABILITY.

Forty-eight ships, totalling 238400 tons, and forming one quarts of the North German Lloyd Liar's, tical, or cylindrical. It is therefore total tonnage are laid ip. The obviously an architecture of power, balance-sheet shows a net loss of which may make it an ill neighbour 2458,000 for the past year. for the silly and overdressed to liva The Hamburg-Amerika Line in with. A so-called modernist build-¦curred a loss of £230,000. In order jing-by which one merely means a to cover their losses, hoth coin-

really modern building-in best inpanies are writing off two-thirds of ¡ to oversens users of marine engines

a suburb or town of its own kind. Its truthfulnes does not make it fit in easily with the old diplomacy of the street.

Two Good Examples,

their capital.

•

The Liverpool-London Express.

Among the accelerated services of express trains recently announ- ced by the London, Midland and

Some remarkable tributes to the lasting reliability of Thornycroft marine engines have recently been received by the manufacturers from satished owners.

These are of significant interest

who, more than anything, require sturdy job that will stand up to many years of normal and not in- frequently rough unnge:

An example of the latter was mentioned in one letter from an

age had resulted.

CIL-

Writing recently about the new The formula is therefore dropped building of Manchester;; I mention (and a revolution in desigù occurs. ed the fact that these buildings, with the notable exception of the

The idea of letting the masca of Scottish Railway, is the 5.20 14 1adian owner, whose native atten. new church of St. Nicholas, Burn-

ja building explain themselves is ex from Lime-street, Liverpool, to

dant had run his Thornycroft eu- age, do not reflect the new move-

tended, of course, to the detail. In Euston, which, on and after Julygise for a whole day without any ment in architectural design so ap-| These revolutionary breaks with this way one gets the functional 18, will cover the 1523 miles from water circulation, and was pleas parent all over the Continent. Ithe past always coincide with the designing of the motor-car or nero Crowe to Willesden in 142 minutes,

new faith, and stated arrival of a new method of construc-plane applied to architecture or start-to-stop, at an average speedRully surprised that no serious dam- that the schools of architecturetion, which makes the desired new nearly so- nearly so," because in of 04 miles per hour. When the throughout the country, with one or shapes and new conquest of space a building, as under the bonnet of new time-table comes into force, No Involuntary Stops. two exceptions, were boiling over possible. The invention of concrete a car or in the human body, there the train will leave Liverpool at

Another letter stated "my with enthusiasm for it. Perhaps by the Romans of Imperial times, are things batter hidden. Mr. Em-5.23 p.m., call at Willesden in ad-gine has been in constant use for may, now attempt to explain this making possible their great vaulted berton's new Yacht Club at Burn-dition to its present stop at Crewe, early four years, during which new faith. I say

ถ good example "attempt," behalis, was such an occasion. When ham is

of and arrive at Euston at 8.45 p.time it has not made an involuntary Everything in it in ex-giving an acceleration of 23 minutes cause any sincere movement in the for centuries the secret of this con- this.

efficient, yet un- on the journey. The Company arts, apart from passing fashions, crete had been lost, the invention plisit and

and nus something within it, deep and of the ribbed vault of small stones ity is maintained charne- claims that this express will set

con universal, which cannot be atted made possible the Gothic forms of ter achieved. No one doubt up a new European speed record into words but which reveals itself building. Steel construction to-day the purpose of the building. The for the fastest start-to-stop journey

makes possible the skyscraper, but other example illustrated, the fine of over 150 miles. it also makes possible a new length new Town Hall at Hilversum by the of lintel. Spaces can be bridged, Dutch architect, William Dudok, is by horizontal beams which could not equally explicit. As in this case. be bridged before in that way. The however, the purposes the building by J. Stone and Company, the proportions set up by the stone lin. has to serve are more complicated, Deptford metal workers and elec- tel cease to apply. When, further, the masses are more varied, and trieal and general engineers. the steel is crabedded in concrete so greater contrasts between them are The net revenue, after deprecia- that the combined qualities of both possible. It will, I think, be ad- tion, Jamounted for last year to can be used to the utmost we have mitted that this Dutch architect has only £83,478, against £207,749 for

new material, ferre-concrete, produced a fine and powerful strue- | the previous year,

in the work.

帽

*

Deptford Metal Workers.

A hig fall in profits is aunouned

ston."

Their easy starting is commenters by another owner, whose boat. 18 equipped with Handybilly"

LNG Thornycraft engines.

i. They

will both start on half a turn from cold and the petrol consumption is well under two gallons per hour for both engines going at full speed."

Even more convincing is he ex- perience of another user who wrote "For the 8th consecutive year the engine has run with its usual watch- like regularity. Except to chunge the oil and clean the plugs, nothing

The movement, one must confess at the outset, is revolutionary ra ther than evolutionary. Architec ture, of course, never stands still. New problems arising out of new needs assure that. Generally, how ever, the changes brought about in this way are gradunt. The temple or palace grows, but its type re- mains. Then almost suckienly this which opens all kinds of new posture full of interesting contrasts of The Ordinary distribution this has ticen touched in any way what- stretching process ceases. The old sibilities. Space of practically any masses and planes, which for its time is 7 per cent., and compares ever." formule are not equal to the new shape can now be enclosed, and that undoubted success relies not at all with 20 per cent., phas a bumme Messrs. John I. Thornycroft and ocension. The Italian palace for by a homogeneous monolithic maupon traditional forms. Like Em-of & per cent. before.

Co., Limited, are locally represnut- mula, for instance, which has served terial, stiff as stone and strong as herton, Dudok has enjoyed the new

The carry-forward is £143,059,ed at Pioneer Building, Nathan for office buildings in every coun- steel, indeed possessing the most freedom steal and concrete provide, galust £148,241 brought in.

Rond, Kowloun. try, cannot be stretched to meet the striking qualities of both.

He has through it been able to roo. The U.S. Iron and Steel Industry. sudden growth upwards of such

It will be admitted, then, that'del with a boldness denied to 'che

Statistics issued recently, by the Imildings in Amerien. The attempt when steel and steel and concrete palace-builders of the past. There United States Bureau of Mince any to close Penarth Dock, have is made, but cornices of hollow cof construction were both fully devo is an energy about the forms he show that the production of steel decided not to oppose the Company per, for safety, stamped out i

country declined from |loped the stage was set for another uses, combined with n

restraint in that

as they recognise the difficulties to look like stone, however bis they architectural revolution, if the arabout the surfaces, which gives im: 25,000,000 tons in 1931.

40,000,483 gross tons in 1936, to which are being encountered and

Pig-iron fare, seem absurd so high in the air.chitects desired to seize the oppor- mense vitality to his building. I outputs deelined from 31,800 the need for economies. The Car- tunity, which, of course, a number is this new power over form and tons in 1930 to 17,052.013 tons in diff Chamber of Commerce, Curdiff of them did. At the beginning of space, the seeing of one's building United States, main hematite and British Channel Shipowners'

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*

•

1931. The iron ore mined in the i

this century there were men in every country -Professor Lethaly in ours-who with the universal use of what one and finally the making of something | 1930. may call either church, palace, or expressive of one's own time with Large Insurance on a Flying-bost.

nut entisfied of it as a sculptor with his clay of 47 per cent. from the total for Channel District Association of

the

from the Lake Superior listrict, Association, South Wales Coal Ex. whole from the start, the modelling anwanted to 31,131,502 tous in 1931, porters' Association, Monmouth- which figure represents ʼn decrease

Chartered Shipbrokera, and Cardifi and Bristol Channel Pitwood Importers' Association, Arrangements were made in Lon-have all decided not to oppose the take but two cases, could not no making a period piece, which is don for the insurance, through the Great Western Railway Company twisted to fit these prevailing mo- thrilling the students in our schools tives without falsity and indeed of architecture to-day and which contain laurdity, yet they were

cottage motives. The factory or the block of workmen's tenements,

its new ideals instead of merely

to

Q new and often promised land seemed so near or Buch conquests so possible, given the opportunity.

British Aviatioji Insurance Com- on the matter in view of the assur- pany, of a new flying boat, which Bros. (Rochester and Belford), Ltd. would be immediately re-opened if has been built by Alesars, Short nee of the company that in the event of the dock bring closed it The Insurance, which is for

trade improved sufficiently to war.

£100,000, is believed to be the

effreted with one.

a craft of the aeroplane

Olosing of Penarth Dock.

unt such a step. The traders have also been assured that ample faci- firs would still be provided to meet the trade requirements of the district, inasmuch, hs tips which have been put out of operation as Various trading organisations, Cardiff and Barry could be brought though regretting the suggestion of back into service to deal with ton. the Great Western Railway Com-age which might have gone to

(Continued on next column) - Penarthi.

among the most significant units of one hopes will to-morrow be making our civilisation. It was felt by a new, more efficient, cleaner, san largest ever

pany on these men that there was too mucher, and happier world for everyone. type. architectural detail culled from the Never for our young architects has past, and now nearly dead, and too little simplicity in our buildings. There was therefore a desire to study mass-forms rather than facade decoration to obtain the necessary unity. Gordon Craig and Adolphe Appia led the way on the stage. Detail there, too, gave way to masy. form. In sculpture it was the same, and even in the two-dimensional art of painting a new value was attach- ed to the expression of volume.

This desire to allow the masca of a building to express themselves un- aided by any decorative scheme Found the new materials of steel and concrete ready waiting. The shapes required by the factory, how lever strange, could now be built, and, once built, were very generally found to be effective and signific- ant. The war, of course, helped. the movement both indirectly-and directly; indirectly by making everyone tired of the old aristocra tie decoration motives, and so fos.

LIGHTING & POWER INSTALLATION toring the desire for simplicity, and

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The General Electric Co. (of China), Ltd.

QUEEN'S BUILDINGS,

HONG KONG.

directly through the increase in fly. ing. As one flew over buildings one saw that the shapes of their masses were the important things, explain. ing the plan and meaning of the building better than any formal de- coration,

The new architecture therefore first seeks expression through the proportions of and contrasts be- tween the masses of a building. If it articulates these masses in any way it does so to enhance their main form, be it longitudinal, ver

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