Journal OF THE AMERICAN INSTITUTE OF ARCHITECTS THEARCHITECTANDTHEHOM ...

120 Pages·2012·46.04 MB·English

September 1961
A - I -A
J o u r n al
OF THE AMERICAN INSTITUTE OF ARCHITECTS
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A I A
T o u r n al
EDITOR
Joseph Watterson, FAIA VOLUME XXXVI. NO. 3 SEPTEMBER 1961
ASSISTANT EDITOR
N. Carl Barefoot, Jr
TECHNICAL EDITOR
Eric Pawley, AIA
8 Letters to the Editor
ADVERTISING MANAGER
Mary H. Ranta
14 News
ART DIRECTOR 25 The Architect and the Homebuilder
Wolf Von Eckardt
27 Edward H. Fickett, AIA: Frankly Speaking
ASSISTANT ART DIRECTOR
Marilyn S. Housell 30 Alfred Browning Parker, FAIA: Communities Are Not A-OK
33 Robert C. Ledermann: Homebuilding and the Urban Growth Process
CIRCULATION ASSISTANT
Margie Wynn 37 Carl Koch, FAIA: IJ for America
SECRETARY 44 Allen G. Siple, AIA: Suburbia Revisited
Janet R. Williams
47 Eugene R. Martini, ASLA, AIP: Land Planning vs Land Scraping
50 Henry Charles Burge, AIA: Home Sweet Home
52 Lawrence Halprin, ASLA: The Community in the Landscape
The Journal of The American In
58 Herman H. York, AIA: Tract Homebuilding Design
stitute of Architects, official organ
of the Institute, is published month 61 A Portfolio of Planned Communities
ly at The Octagon, 1735 New York 73 Richard D. Cramer, AIA: Land Planning: A Proposal for Improvement
Avenue, N.W., Washington 6, B.C.
78 John L. Schmidt, AIA: Need We Crossbreed?
Editor: Joseph Watterson. Sub
scription in the United States, its 8! A. Quincy Jones, FAIA: The Livable Community and Site Plan Design
possessions, and Canada, $4 a year 86 Robert Martin Engelbrecht, AIA: Architectural Fees for Housing
in advance; elsewhere, $5.50 a year. 90 James W. Toland: Public Relations and Architecture
Chapter Associate members, $2.00;
92 John M. King: Costs and the Production of Houses
Students, $2.00, Members of Art
Museums, Associations, etc., $2.00 98 The Housing Act of 1961
(by special group arrangement). 102 Ralph O. Mott, AIA: An Improved Interstate Registration Procedure
Single copies 504- Copyright, 1961
by The American Institute of Ar
chitects. Second class postage paid THE INSTITUTE
at Washington, D. C. Change of
104 William H. Scheick, AIA: DO Architects Care About Houses?
Address: Notify The Octagon, giv
ing both old and new addresses. 105 Library Notes
A How four weeks for change • The 106 Book Reviews
official address of the Institute as
108 Editor's Page
a N.Y. Corporation: 115 E. 40th
Street, New York, N.Y. • The 116 Corporate Members
Producers' Council affiliated with 118 Calendar, Necrology
AIA, 2029 K Street, N.W., Wash
126 Allied Arts
ington 6, D.C. • Opinions ex
pressed by contributors are not nec
essarily those of the ALA. THE COVER
The Institute's Director of Public Services, Matthew L. Rockwell, AJA, AIP, designed
B PA
our "planned community" for this month's special issue devoted to the architect
and the homebuilder.
T HE A M E R I C AN I N S T I T U TE OF A R C H I T E C TS
Board of Directors
Otlicers
President Philip Will, Jr, FAIA, 309 West Jackson Blvd., Chicago 6, 111.
First Vice President Henry L. Wright, FAIA, n25 W. 6th Street, Los Angeles 17, Calif.
Second Vice President James M. Hunter, FAIA, 1126 Spruce Street, Boulder, Colorado
Secretary J. Roy Carroll, Jr, FAIA, 6 Penn Center Plaza, Philadelphia 3, Pa.
Treasurer Raymond S. Kastendieck, FAIA, 128 Glen Park Ave., Gary, Indiana
Executive Director William H. Scheick, AIA
Consulting Director Edmund R. Purves, FAIA
Regional Directors
(Terms expire 1962)
Middle Atlantic Daniel A. Hopper, Jr, AIA, 1000 Springfield Ave., Irvington, N. J.
Michigan Linn Smith, AIA, 894 South Adams Rd., Birmmgham, Mich.
Gulf States Clinton E. Brush, III, AIA, 1719 West End Ave., Nashville, Tenn.
Northwest Harry C. Weller, AIA, Washington State University, Pullman, Wash.
South Atlantic Arthur Gould Odell, Jr, FAIA, 102 West Trade St., Charlotte, N. C.
Terms expire 1963)
Central States Oswald H. Thorson, AIA, 219 Waterloo Bldg., Waterloo, Iowa
Florida Robert M. Little, FAIA, 2180 Brickell Ave., Miami, Florida
California Malcolm D. Reynolds, FAIA, 916 Kearny St., San Francisco, Calif.
Texas Reginald Roberts, AIA, 2600 N. McCullough Ave., San Antonio, Tex.
Illinois William Bachman, AIA, 7111 State Line Ave., Hammond, Ind.
Pennsylvania WiUiam W. Eshbach, AIA, 1519 Walnut St., Philadelphia, Pa.
(Terms expire 1964)
East Central James Allan Clark, AIA, Henry Clay Sta., Box 57, Lexington, Ky.
New York Morris Ketchum, Jr, FAIA, 227 E. 44th St., New York, NY.
New England James Lawrence, Jr, FAIA, 711 Boylston St., Boston, Mass.
Ohio George B. Mayer, FALA, 616 The Arcade, Cleveland, Ohio
North Central Julius Sandstedt, AIA, 103 Otter Ave., Oshkosh, Wis.
Western Mountain R. Lloyd Snedaker, AIA, 12 Post OflSce PL, Salt Lake City, Utah
Headquarters
1735 NEW YORK AVENUE, N.W., WASHINGTON 6, D. C.
Executive Director William H. Scheick, AIA
Secretary to the Executive Director Mabel Day
Legal Counsel Samuel Spencer
Director, Administrative Services J. Winfield Rankin, Honorary AIA
Comptroller William G. Wolverton
Membership Florence H. Gervais
Personnel Jane Dougherty
2 Purchasing Agent Marvin Mayeux
" Director, Public Services Matthew L. Rockwell, AIA, AIP
1 ^ Editor of the Journal Joseph Watterson, FAIA
Assistant Editor of the Journal N. Carl Barefoot, Jr
Advertising Manager of the Journal Mary H. Ranta
* Public Information Wolf Von Eckardt
< Professional Affairs Polly Shackleton
Art Director Wolf Von Eckardt
Assistant Art Director Marilyn S. Housell
Exhibit Services Alice Graeme Korff
Director, Professional Services Theodore W. Dominick, AIA
Chapter and Student Affairs M. Elliott Carroll, AIA
Architectural-Building Information Services Robert Berne, AIA
Professional Practice Robert J. Piper, AIA
Research Secretary Eric Pawley, AIA
Education Maurice William Perreault, AIA
Historian Henry H. Saylor, FAIA
Librarian George E. Pettengill
Technical Secretary Theodore W. Dominick, AIA (Acting)
Consultant on Contract Procedures William Stanley Parker, FAIA
Monarch produces weatherstrip solely for leading door and window manufacturers and jobbers.
Keeping the weather out...
The RllBEROID Co. Hastic Tile Division
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The objective of the RUBEROID-MASTIC program on this with "Education for Youth and Adult
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terms of projects of public interest. The First An Competition provides still further demonstration
nual Competition was "Better Living for the Middle of how the architectural profession can contribute
Income Family." The 1960 competition enlarged importantly to community improvement.
NATIONAL AWARDS SPECIAL STUDENT AWARDS
Grand Prize ... $10,000 First Prize $2,000
Victor A. Cusak, AlA, Ronald Meza and Alan Bentley Glass
James S. Moore. AlA Forrest L. Johns and David M. Griffin
Second Prize ... $5,000 Second Prize ... $1,000
Jimmie W. Bruza, James F. Knight Miller Edward Gerardy and Richard W. Cramer
James S. Daley and William C. Watson, Jr.
Third Prize $500
Third Prize $2,500 Don Dommerand Gordon Kovell
John V. Shoeris. AlA, William J. Johnson, ASLA,
$250 Merit Awards
and Clarence Roy, ASLA
1. Stanley E. Abercrombie, Jr. and John M. Ellis
$500 Merit Awards
2. BIythe S. Brewster
1. Miller Edward Gerardyand Richard W.Cramer 3. John L. Lawler
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3. Alan Bentley Glass, Forrest L. Johns
and David M. Griffin CITATIONS
4. Pacifico Bacaizo and Borivoj Rieb 1. Stanley E. Abercrombie, Jr. and John M. Ellis
5. Marvin Berman, AlA, and Stanleys. Kogan, AlA 2. Firoz Rustum Mistry
6. Ted Granzow, Robert D. Guss, Jr., and 3. David Leash
Delias H. Harder 4. Earl Matthews Farnham
THE JURY: E. Todd Wheeler, FAIA, Chairman, AlA Committee on Ready in late 1961. Elaborate 14"x IT'album brochure reproducing prize-
Hospitals and Health • James J. Souder, AlA • Donald E. Neptune, AlA winning plans in large scale and full detail. Write on your company or pro
Raymond Brown, School of Hospital Administration, University of Chicago fessional letterhead, include $L00 to cover mailing and handling cost, to:
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Letters is quite complicated, for the problem lies in the
realm of what could be called political philosophy,
and then only secondarily in the realm of planning.
Planning by its very nature implies a collective ex
About Urban Design pression — an expression which may. in many
cases, override the interests of singular individuals
EDITOR, Journal of the AIA : with individual motive. This is a sore point with
The recent March Issue of the Journal de many. Witness the difficulty in bringing national
voted to Urban Design was a most stimulating and resources into the picture of education or urban
provocative dissertation on the role of architectur renewal. The ready bugaboo of "Socialism" is ever
al planning in the problem of environmental deter present in a political climate where the simple
mination. Praise is due the Journal for its fine naming of a proposition as "socialistic" renders
presentation. further analysis of that proposition nearly impos
However, such discussions as were put forth by sible.
the various authors cannot help but leave some of So it appears that the architects now have a
us, in spite of the validity of their application in "citizen" role which nearly overrides their "plan
a limited scope, with a feeling that a certain lack ner" role. and. indeed, must be fulfilled prior to
of penetration into the nature of the problem is any real fulfillment of their professional role. This.
present, and that the very "meat" of the issue is I suppose, requires interest, understanding, pro
left untouched — with the exception of the arti motion and sponsorship of political ideas. This
cles by Dr Duhl, and Mr McOuade. In spite of point, important as it is. in my thinking, was aot
what many of the authors say, I think one would adequately covered in the March Issue. I think
be hard put to find sensitive architects disagreeing the problems of planning merely cannot be sepa
with the asserted and reasserted need for a com rated so easily. True, there are some architects —
prehensive approach to the planning of the en some leading ones among them — who have dis
vironment, and who do not long to drop this end claimed any sociological implication to their work
less preoccupation with the architectural "gems" beyond that of the "beauty" experience, but I do
in favor of more far reaching programs. In many not think they number among the majority.
cases — not all to be sure — architects work with
Architecture. I believe, when challenged by a
"gems" simply because there is no greater prin
politically, sociologically conscious civilization will
ciple to relate the immediate building to, nor is
respond through individual genius (in spite of Mr
there promise of future plan to which to relate.
Will's "package") with an urban environment
What is the architect to do? I think in many cases
unequaled in the past. Such a client must wield a
he rationalizes his "gem" approach with the honest
great deal of political power, as well as courage
conviction that a good individual work may act as
and intelligence which has so far not been present.
an example to what is possible collectively. In spite
This, of course, as citizens, requires architects to
of the words of our president, Mr Will, whenever
first be clients, doesn't it?
good architects have been asked to think beyond
the lot-line such projects as the GM Tech Center, EDVv'ARD COLBERT, AIA
Warren, Mich.
Brasilia, the Fort Worth development, the Capital
City of India, etc, have resulted — burying for
the moment dilTerences of opinion in subjective EDITOR, Journal of the AIA:
esthetic evaluation. I think also that no serious The March issue of the Journal is great! The
architect challenges the statement that more is Urban Design is by far the best to date.
needed by way of the purely "formal" considera We would like to secure more copies for dis
tions of our architectural solutions to the cityscape. cussion purposes. Am enclosing check for two
dollars for four extra copies.
Isn't the most immediate problem relevant to an
Keep up the good work!
adequate solution to our urban design problems a
AARON WABASH
political-sociological one rather than an architec
Van Nuys, Calif.
tural one? In short, will we not have to wait until
"human values" supersede "property values" in
our cultural system (instead of the reverse situa EDITOR, Journal of the AIA:
tion which is now present) before the "city prob You did a splendid job on the March issue
lem" will be anywhere near approaching? Wait, of the Journal. This is the sort of thing we need—
not passively of course, but actively as citizens of not purely technical articles. Congratulations.
a nation rather than a profession merely. EUGENE HENRY KLABER, FAIA, AIP
No serious person will disagree with this propo Quakertown, Pa.
sition, I expect — but the "how" of this problem
(Continued on p. 10)