INTERESTING CRITICISM.

Dominion, Volume 1, Issue 19, 17 October 1907, Page 4

INTERESTING CRITICISM.

ARCHITECTURE. IN NEW. ZEALAND. (By an Architect;) , , The visitor to this Dominion finds much to command his admiration in the realms of Nature, but it cannot bo said that our cities offer-great attraction to tho tourist or sightseer.' Thero is' no- lack of commercial activity or of-the evidence of industrial progress to engage his attention, but tho architecture of-our strcots is not of a naturo to oxcito deep interest or onthusiasm. Especially is. this true of Wellington! It is' doubtful if architectural art has kept pace with'the development manifested in: other directions. ■ Many of'tho best buildings of the Dominion were orected quite a number of years ago, for instanco Christchurch Anglican Cathedral (still, probably, the host building :wo .possess), the Canterbury College buildings, the interesting and picturesque old provincial buildings, the Dun'edin buildings, schools,' churches, banks and insurance companies' buildings. . In Auckland no.commercial building of recent, years has equalled the Victoria Arcade .building, but' in . ecclesiastical architecture Auckland, has certainly .made a; valuable acquisition recently by the erection of St. Matthew's Anglican Church. Wellington's street architecture suffers, much' on-account of tho prevailing uso of [stucco, which, is substituted' for' the,.'.stone,• which the district : lacks. A Skin, of Stucco., : • ;.r.lf less 'of i ; that materiarWere' in ovid'on'co ;our buildings .would be more' interesting, bboause mbro hoiicst. It is' not good, art to cover a biick building with a skill, of stucco , so that it may appear liko one 'of ;stone. Architecture of this iiivit'ativO character' lias jiover.been hold in high esteem.,. The canons 'of good taste do not protest against the use pfrstucco, but' only agajnst its, misuse in the representation ,of some other material. We are.'.'not hoiv,.so tolerant; of .painted jmjtatibns:9"f.; marble', .on .'wood "or., plasterj.surfaces _ as. we Iwero'woht to .be.' .It was.'ahvays ,an'indication of bad taste,, but it 'was' Very 'generally, .tolerated. A stuccoed imitation of,..stone is jn* no better taste.- Architecture is not' an art akin,,to .the confectioner, ..whq somotimes spreads, a. .coating of;, elaborated, sweetness over . a rough, and . unsightly substructure,,'.;iYot'.; 'very:..similar, ,'is..the produc,tion of.Tpatfs.. of our..street, b,uildings. ; 111, the process' 0f... orection: wo see a rough brick structure raised without form and void- practically, ■ certainly without architectural' form, and' void-of,: any,, beauty ..whatever. . The buil T der.;'so . far ,is construction' is. concerned) , has 'done his workj'.'. arid.l.ivith.,tho "utmost coarse-. 'ness apparentlj'; tlio : rough' ■is built, on' tho' •roof walls, and as far aa the exterior is 'con-., ,cei;ned, the building might be ready for oc-' .cupatioh. Now a transformation takes pjace. , ; Up Vto : this itage- thero has 1 been : no ■ style ■ about, the building, nothing 'to "indicate what ■its character was to be,' whether classic, Gothic, Romanesque, Dutch, or Queen Anne tho boholder has .had no,hint,-.,but quite in . a short' stones .i'egin," to. appear where, ivere none be'r ■ fore. ■ Key' stohes, or their representations, take -form wliero no arched construction exists; monolithic lintels span in front of rough arches,- and' generally the. construction- 'is- falsified, all' over/''..The 1 -building .has put on a new and imposing garb, but it is'not arclii-! tecture —only the semblanco of it. , There can ■be lib real architccturb without'structural in-; tegrit'yi -i ■ The uso • of' stucco • after this. fashion •was.'introduced 'into'ltaly-'by an irch'iteot /named "Palladio' in;- tlifl-'sixteenth century, who, failing to get'some of his grand designs for, palatial stone buildings •accepted .by _ his noble patrons on'tho score of their exponsiveness, 'had them executed in the shoddy material. Stucco was use'd in ages long prior to (that of Palladia's ..day, but not in thq manner now-;' referred ,t0.,, Palladio has., had a vast influence .on', the architcct.urp .of ■, tho. succeeding generations for good and for .evil-: His' evil influence has liad.a good innings in ,this. fair , land, and it will .be a bright day architecturally- v/lie'n it; ceases': *' At one tiriio it took' hold,'' bnly'for -'a' short period, how-ever,-in England, when early in the'last''century an architect named John Nash camo under its spell, and;erected Some' pretentious buildings with stuq'co finish; which nevor had any repute in 1 cultured-. circles, and 'which - gave occasion for the production of the following derisivo couplet:—' " ' "Augustus at' Rome was for; building renowned. ' . , - , He left'all ;of marble where . brick he had found.. .■ . ', f.-.-' But is not our Nash, too, ; a very great '-.. master — ' . He found us all brick, and loft us all plaster." " ' ■ Quite out of Court. . Stuccoed architecture of .the Palladian type is quite out of -in-England, and most other countries where brick is used uncovered when stone is not .available, and-thero is no reason why good neat brickwork shouid not be moro in evidence here. : It is quite'possible to have very fine buildings in briek, especially if combined with ornamental terra cotta in the ■ manner largely used in other countries. . Stone, owing to its costliness, ,oannot bo used to any great extent in Wellington, but -it is-'not indispensable any m'oro than its imitative substitute, stucco. Wellington can, or should, produce: as. excellent ■bricks and terra cotta': at moderate cost as ■are manufactured '-elsewhere,' and it is this industry above all others which-must be encouraged'bof ore.tbe. architectural art of tho Capita] of the Dominion "will, keep pace with that of other centres. beyond the seas.,' It,is not sufficient that. her buildings should bo imposing.,in .size and, correct: in proportions,must also;- boar -on-tho ..face. ;of. thom. tlio stamp of gonuinenoss. If the art and craft if the stonfmiin-cannob recdivo'nvuch eiicouragemonti that of'the brickbui'ldor may. but it present the latter-as a skilled craftsman is in danger of becoming; as oxtinct in our mitlst as the jfoa. There is little, demand made upon his. ..skill in ' .the production ,of ftqnT work in v,'hiph',he may take,pride and pains. arid.;hef,has,. to avlarge extent,''•! sunk i/S 'the position;.of-, the /rough hewer, so-to fconk. of,a imero ground.work prepared for the"- real. ovaftsmanV the .plasterer, who 'folHowS.' Arei.'itcctuvjii .h'as been called tho priutr,' 'vnci press of.' till ages recording .in stone, brick or like materials.- tho ? .history;bf tho: nations., V-nnp ; f-he npoessity for tnitHfnl expression. In such a noble art there should bo no sham von"ering. practised;. it. should bo of- such a .cha'-aetor. !t-hat the .cohtemnlation of",it .may,' as'Ruskin, hasi.said- somewhere, contribute to our mental health, power-and pleasuro.- "