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significant way--ideally suited to the layout. And last, but by no means least, the designer must imbue the whole concept with his aesthetic inten- tion. No great architecture has ever only been an answer to practical pro- blems. To quote an age-old formula, in addition to function and firmness there must be delight. It must be a pleasure to be in a building and at the same time it should form a neu- tral, natural background in which our activities can take place.

Colours and textures will enrich today's basic simplicity, but rather than having many surfaces covered with diluted colours, keep the main areas neutral and use colour on isolated areas which will then almost appear floating and produce interest- ing visual "opposition" or "tension." Never use violent patterns they destroy form and make a quiet restful atmosphere impossible.

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Just as important as the shell of the building are its equipment and furni- ture both movable and fixed. And here the most harm is done by most of us in this present confused age we live in. People still hark back to the past and feel that antiques are beautiful. To me they can never be considered

that, actively. Maybe in a museum but not in use. They are no more part of us than the methods of trans- port or the plumbing of the era they belong to.

But aside from appearance, there is the problem of production. Furni- ture today is made by machine and to make it "look" handmade is an outspoken lie. The design and the ma- terial should bring out the very intrin- sic characteristics of the means of pro- duction. Hand-made ornaments, flow- ers painted or carved, are ugly because they are not of our time. Decoration should be of a thing not on a thing. In this age of industrialisation only a mass-produced item can hope to com- bine good design with reasonable cost.

con-

We need designers who will ceive things that will show the enor- mous untapped possibities of machine production and the inherent beauty of industrial materials.

And what of the future of building?

There is no doubt that the future of building lies in the direction of increased industrialisation of the building activity generally. Just as mass production has made the motor car economically available, so the

SCHINDLER

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building industry must be mechanised to meet its demands. Present day building practices could be compared to producing a car in the local black- smith's shop. The growing high cost of labour and site work will force building more and more into factories where components will be made to be assembled on the site in a minium of time.

So-called "prefabricated" houses do not, as a rule, answer this pressing need in a positive way. By prefabri- cating actual complete house "tvdes, the variety is extremely limited and monotony will result. The need is for components which can be assembled in a multiplicity of combinations en- suring an infinite variety of plan forms and appearance to suit varying requirements. Such industrialised

building components will be the key to decreasing the costs of a building. and at the same time increasing its quality and permanence. The produc- tion of standard parts must, however, be kept alive by imaginative designers to ensure that the end result will not be a soulless assembly of mass-pro- duced material, but that industry will only be a new means in the shaping of the architecture of tomorrow.

JEC

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THE HONG KONG & FAR EAST BUILDER - VOLUME 14. NUMBER 4

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