Subject who may be insentient to precise mathematical formulae, analogies or statistics. To understand the new movement it is also necessary to understand the generative concept of the Rationalist in relation to architectural develop- ment.
The progress of society and achievement is likened to the upward motion of aspiral, the complete turn of each cycle representative of a tendency of reversion to fundamentals and a fresh solution to problems of the previous cycle below. Furthermore, each successive rise being symbolical of increased knowledge of techniques and a higher status of operation. It is but a short step to ascribe beauty to natural function especially when confronted with the glowing example of external nature. Charles Darwin not only discovered that much of the inherent beauty of nature was not only due to its function, but also a necessity for its survival as a species. Even so, it is in accordance with Rationalist wherein he contends that a bird, man, or beast has been designed and was also assisted in its own design in order to maintain itself as a functional organism of its own nature.
The purposeful beauty of nature cannot be denied and surely the emotional appeal must belong to the Rationalist above all others.
A bird is beautiful because it expresses purpose—a machine is beautiful because it expresses function.
The Rationalist tells us that a motor car is a machine for travelling in and a house is a machine for living in that function must be synonymous with beauty and that intellectual truth is indissolubly united with the Aesthetic.
During the last thirty years, industrial design has advanced to an almost unrecognisable extent. The 1950 model motor car is a much greater joy to look upon than its 1920 pre- decessor. Transport and the engines of war possess a drama- tic appeal to which the most hardened case of conscious myopia cannot remain impervious. The pattern of living is inspired by supersonic speeds, the heroic scale of dynamos. the illimitable ambition of skyscrapers and soul searing mysteries of electronics. All of these things are created through individual and national demands of survival either in the commercial or warlike sense. Whether the Architect willed it or not, the world of science has inexorably forced itself upon his consciousness and become part of his mental processes. Notwithstanding, it is still in his power to use science as docile servant or alternatively, to submit to its dictates.
Rationalism can be a hard philosophy and a potent weapon to the intellectually polished. The Traditionalists never knew how little the term ever applied to them or how deadly the rationalising process could be to any form of human sentiment.
Logic and Tradition
There is something of an air of inevitability about all good Architecture and works of art; it contains an element of culmination and a degree of social maturity. The growth of architecture has been long and arduous, it has its beginnings in function and evolved itself in step with man's spiritual advancement and, in the times when the vulgar step faltered, the aristocrats of intellect still maintained the continuity of culture. As the Roman arch superseded the flat lintol so did the highly logical Gothic revolutionize the spanning of distance and, in full keeping with the character of man, flamed his desire to sophisticate his works and civilize crude function.
It is difficult to assess to ultimate ideals of the Greeks whenever their talents were applied to architecture; however, it is quite obvious that is they still saw it to develop a functional motive long after it had outlived its purpose and the sophisticating process did not die with them, but, if anything. was carried on more vigorously by the Romans and in time by the Italians of the Baroque and Renaissance.
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If the final results were a waste of labour and materials, it cannot be said that the world was poorer because the austerity of fundamentals had been ignored nor can condemn classic ambitions as pseudo because they contained all the perfections of artistic imagery. Knowledge, culture, and discrimination are three qualities upon which tradition is dependent. Of the three, discrimination is the most important quality necessary to separate and unite creative artists and expert interpreters. In the first case the stimulus is given and in the second case, the idea is matured. To illustrate the point further, a pianist of talent may be an indifferent composer, but may add new beauty to a theme invented by a good composer of inferior executive ability. And so Tradition grows and is developed.
Knowledge, culture, discrimination endow tradition with the power to accept the best and reject the worst. Tradition is not a victim of whims and individual fancies. It is not the expression of a perfect theory nor the completion of a system of thought, but the gradual smoothing of crude matter—a boast of not what is structurally plausible, but, aesthetically practicable.
The steady striving of the Rationalists for basics and the enlistment of every new technique possibly ease certain aspects of physical existence and mayhap offer simple solutions to the many problems besetting an architect. nevertheless, the new techniques frequently encourage a mental blindness to many of the real aesthetic issues involved.
Humanism in Logic
An efficient plan and the perfect expression of plan is not the beginning and end of architecture. There is always
one other condition to fulfil and it is that of humanism— whether or not the building is related to him, is for him or if he is claimed in servitude to a principle.
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Economies of plan, structure, materials, practical require- ments, site and mass are the absolute minimum essentials to architecture. Scientific achievement may be necessary to physical existence, but it is debatable if the resultants add to the sum total of spiritual content.
Perhaps apathy towards rationalistic progress may lead to something worse. but, the struggle must continue for the maintenance of moral values for architecture is intrinsically an experience and a primary concern of the mind and cannot be adequately defied in finite terms.
Man is not a machine with a standard personality contain- ing specified likes or dislikes,
He may live according to a social formula, but his mind varies in receptivity, his character is largely influenced by environment, his intelligence, relative evaluation of knowledge and mental reaction to external phenomena all combine to build an individuality belonging to him alone and serving to distinguish him from one social unit to another. As the man differs so do his ideas and reasoning differ.
Reason or logic has not an objective existence, it belongs to and operates in that most variable of quantities-the human mind. It has been already pointed out that aesthetics are part and parcel of the intellect. Therefore, it requires no lengthy study to see that the logic of architecture must occur there also. Tradition is just as natural and logical to the academician as function is to the new thinker. A plain rein- forced concrete stanchion is no more logical or purposeful than a Corinthian Column. A rolled steel joist has not gained in beauty over a Roman arch. If speed of erection is necessary; if economy must dispense with Tradition and if prefabrication is essential for the unroofed millions, let us say so, but, do not confess that the structures of the past are effete because they do conform to rationalist logic.
Because a dogma of function enlisted attention from the more conservative brethren of the profession, this did not necessarily prove respect. Perhaps the suspicion of Eclectic and Traditionalist was justified, for where there is no common basis of discussion between different lines of thought, there cannot be any admission of opposite convictions.
The true function of architecture is to satisfy certain human indigencies and similarly scientific development. It is the duty of the architect to society that he should unearth and study these needs before applying the rationalizing formula. The architecture of relaxation, industry and religion have all the same thing in common-the housing for a special purpose.
If the philosophy of rationalism is consistently applied civic unity must be the result; however, the same thing may be achieved by Tradition and of the two cases it has not yet been proved that rationalism has met the complete demands of spiritual man. Tradition can at least claim partial success and has withstood that sternest of all tests-time.
The problem would be much easier had architecture belonged to a definite category i.e. art or science. Unfor- tunately or the converse, an Architect is pretty much in the same position as a Choreographer of ballet he must be talented in many directions before he can hope to create one successful essay. Perhaps architecture is waiting for a new Mernah in the sterling hope that he will be recognised when finally he does arrive. However, until that happy day architec- ture is in grave danger of passing entirely into the hands of the Theorists in much the same way that Engineering is becom- ing a victim of the pure mathematicians,
Tradition and Function
The extended possibilities and uses of reinforced concrete, steel and new composite materials have given the plastic artist and designer wider fields of operation. He may produce any shape at will, solidly express any form of mental acrobatics, or faithfully follow the aberrations of fashion.
To him, it is more than easy to deliver extremes of the horizontal and vertical; the design of exciting and impossible cantilences are just part of a day's work and the slightest provocation will make your new house appear as a steamship, motor car-or occasionally, a house.
A functional building is no more a statement of fact than the traditional type excepting the latter is not hidebound by a relentless theory nor need it be either aggressive or vulgarly insistent. The elusive quality of taste is no less prevalent in tradition than in function and the modern architect who is lacking knowledge of the best of precedent is no better than a slavish stylist whose experience is limited by his measured drawings and indiscriminate selection of past works.
The earnest Architect who loves architecture for its own sake gazos fondly into the past and hopefully to the future, his solace lies in any well executed essays he knows and acknowledges the beneficence of the master for nowhere is the character of the artist demonstrated more effectively or permanently than in his design.
A study of architecture and its historial background which ceases at examinational standard is a mere scratch upon the surface of the subject. If tradition is regarded as a necessary evil to be overcome by examination after which is gained the right to perpetrate function under the cloak of logic, then the architect is neither faithful to himself nor just to the Founders of his profession.
The raucous clamour of efficiency, economy, speed, standardisation and the rest of the claptrap that goes with the modern movement, still has not justified itself upon the grounds of architecture-it has eliminated no faults and added nothing to human intelligence. The removal of one set of inhibitions has merely made way for another. If a mental purgative liquidated the Corinthian capital a different kind of medicine is required to sustain the forced religion of function.
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