PRACTICAL REFORM.

Dominion, Volume 12, Issue 204, 23 May 1919, Page 2

PRACTICAL REFORM.

THE MAKING OF A GARDEN SUBURB ■ STUDY OF THE DETAILS PROBLEMS OF SITE AND DESIGN. The measures to bo taken in the establishment of a garden suburb were stated by Mr. C; Kcgiuald I'ord in th(f■ cqureo of an interesting paper read before" I lie Town-planniniJ Mr. Ford said it should be'understood'"that ii swburb with gardens was not the : ea'mo tiling'as iv 'garden'sulnirb; The suburb with home;'Standing-jr. indi'vidunl"gar-dens,-.was- not 'necessarily a good suburb. ''The tenn; 'garden'suburb,'" said'Afr. Ford, • "conveys-an idea of. a district totally different, from the- a'bove..; It conveys an idea of a .district "adjoining -'n.' town; "but separated from it end'well detined-by-so'ine natural w Artir ■ficial boundary. Its-.streets' have "been so .planned as to best serve,, tho • community interests of the suburb itself and so as to give proper communication "with the "town .and 'adjoining ;suburbs.■:. ltd public -utilities, such as drains, vater, and 'electric or' gas supply i. tramways, etc., have' all been carefully provided for ■ and ; probably will be those of the town extended. It has its own community •ceritree, euch as public spaces, shopping districts, schools, library, church;, properly planned and properly placed. Some control , is'exercised over the fcpacin;? of buildings and oyer the quality <-f their design and construction; ■ "A garden .suburb may, and does, take several' different , forms. , 'It may be purely residential. bi\:pure.ly industrial, contain largely the more expensive type of house, or principally tho -lionies of workers.. It may be" developed/-By the State 6i - 'municipality, or by private pei-- ' softs or 'Companies; In'the selection , of, a site for a proposed suburb several.point? ■ must be kept in mind. ■'The'first to ; T>e anyone projecting' a .scheme is it is impossible to -briiig in i; t.he expert.too early iri the- project; 'From the beginning to tho-.end of any townplanning echeino' , '' tlia ■ 'solution ■ of ' the problems involved requires et-pecial skill end knowledge, Sometimes sites' have been selected possessing some drawbacks which mar the scheme for all time,-de-spite- the 'utmost skill- of , the architect called upon later to doal with' the problem; when, had his ndvice been asked in .the very inception of the project,'a Bite giving every opportunity for a model development nysht equally well have been', acquired! • The problem presented will be different in each case, according to the. town of which , the niburb is to form a part, and according to tho.purpose for which it is-intended to lie developed. ' If it isior an industrial centre that portion'of tho'towncr ff adjacent knds mil bo selected which offers' the best railway, river, or bttrhptir facilities; if for purely 'residential; purposes, that site offering the greatest advantages of 'view, aspect, soil; etc." ■■"■■■

Jir. Ford said that nftur.the selection of a "site,' 1 , the -'next step was.. 'tlio. preparation of a contour,j'lan, in order:that the arrangement of roads, • seotioiis, and civic'facilities might conform to nntunil' conaitionß,' and. make-', the best, use .of the natural/features of. tlic lnnil: The necessities of: traffic, the- provision 'of drainage, the position of the railway station""'and' tramlines, the ' convenient situation of tbepublio buildings, were air factors to be ii'eigh';J. : ■ The public buildinKS, churches, library, etc., would probably be grouped around ono.or more opei- spaces which would form centres of social life. l •'"»• ■■ ■ ■ ■ ■■ ••. :

■ "The : q(i'estion of' the size of , the sections,- or, iu .other, words, the number of houses to the ncre, is -one. that does not'admit of a general answer," con-tinued-Mr. ••lord. ■' "Itdepends largely TiD.uii the nature of the ■ development. Here, in New Zealand, where a quaiternoro to a house is quito common, it at ■first seems surprising to read of the:limitation qf houses to eight or twelve to tho acre as. .being something, very , Advanced. But wo have to remember tno shocking I <:or4ition.s' > of overcrowding ill, older' counries iip'otji which this is a very real ad- I viince'.' There-is another'point to remember, too, iu llys connection.. That is, that in reference. to modern garden suburbs, development'' the number of houses xeferred, to is.always the"-number of I houses per net. acre,';th.nt-Jβ,,'all open spaces aro additional, and .if. counted in would-reduce to some'extent thei number of. houses,tp, .the.((ere. - You .might possibly pick certain, districts in Welling, ton, eay, where; tho number "of houses' per. gross acre was greater than in Iltimpstead garden eiiburb, Wo want to ap-.proa-ch this matter with an open mind. "A New Zealand statesman".has; said' , updii niore'than one occasion..tlnit th.e'j ideal for. New. Zealand is a detached house , with; ■a" quarter-acre s 'Section, for every ..wording 'man. But is this necessarily, an ideal to be arrived at? . The writer of', !th,is paper'becomes more and more doubtful or. it. .. You can go through street after street and find "houses witlr their (/uarter-acro, or even lees, unplanted, untidy,,and neglected, with , fences in disrepair. \' It is only too easv to'fall into the habit of measuring, everyone-with'our own yard measure, f j like a quarterracre myself, and so ever.rono elso ought to do fco/is the line of I arsument. But- there are. some men .'andivromoit who do not-care for.'garden-! in?, or who do not uiulerstajKl.'gardenlnn; and, again, there'are: eome, parhiciilarly those whose daily occupation is manual , labour,' who, after their day's labour' , do. not wish to. commence labour again, even if it is" in tlioii own' jjajden. There are others so keenly interested in ■their bowfs, (eniiis, or football, or oilier sport,, that they do not -wish to epemr tiieir eummer evenings • and 'Saturday tfteriioons diggiDg'theiv/rgardehs. , .If .tlic-so. people cannot afford .to' employ tho services of a gardener what.becomes of'the cinai'tw-acro garden? ' "TJiere. is room'in every garden suburb'for a'irreat "variation in!tho aize of sections. h'onio .might a qnarteracre, half-acre,;.oj'.eveii more, for thosewho iiki;" to Iravf a large garden around (v fiiill,y-det?ehed hoiwe, :.and 'hey might 'decrease in size until the'-minimum of one-twelfth. of an aero was fcached in some enfss. The " desire . foiv.. fullydetached cottages each in. a • section is, perhaps, the natural reaction from the dreary, rows.in tho countries of tho Old World. Bnt-it has gond far enough. In the ■writer.'e' qpinibu, i% any garden suburbs proposed.in New-Zealand, or in any housing development, sonio houses should lje designed in groups. That group houses, that is, houses containing tear, six, eight or even m.oro houses built together in one 'block, need -not bo either unpleasant to look upon, or unhealthy to live in, is amply proved by English-, Continental, and American-ex-perience. In all cases, of course, provision, must be made against overcrowding the land by.- making the requisite.number, of open spaces. In the case of workers'homes areas at the back of the J ,hou9K) cpnld bo formed info allot menl; ; gardens, let at a .small rental to .thorn tenants who desired « larger garden. In this way, the requirement of- hygiene,: find the wishes of tenants are aliko. satisfied. " ■"' , ■ : '

~ "If'the garden-suburb is to be more (hair a residential onn, proper provision must bo mcwle for the location of factories ond,. warehouses. Convenience'ln ' the railways or .wharves, it' the suburb .'« .sitouted noiir the Roasido or river, n'nd to the main arterial roads, will be a determining foctor. Their position with regard to the prevailing wind.must re.coive duo consideration, to that fiinoki; and smells will not be 'blown over Iho .town. Provision should be mado. for planting: belta of ireos aromid factory Rites.. t - -Factories are usually, eye-sorest Hut' this need not beV > A : littlo' , aUeutioii to. massing and grouping; will of ten wdcDm tho most utilitarian block of brick and fjlass from positive liglinoss, even if it cannot make it tin object of beauty. That the liowes of tho factory employees should lie grouped near the factory, hardly requires .mentioning. "Tho provision of parks and playKi'oulids'is a, vital featuro for considerntion while tlfo lay-out is being discussed, ■but this forma the .eubjoct, of anotlier paper and need; Dot be further referred to here. It mnit bn mentioned, however, that overy opportunity for flio creation of a minor open spaoe- should, he seiz?d. Thc«o spaces might only givo room for a email ■ natch of grass with a fountain, for insianco,' or nent, or shelter, or form a. email and etfcojulnrjr'pljico , oppositn some semj-publio building, such, -as i\ church, giringr opportunity for its boniity to be properly seen and appreciated.

"A site "should he set ;ip,irt for a control 'place,' whero-tho community Hfo ot the suburb" will naturally cetttiv. Hiiro will bo'grouped , the principal community buildings, tho post office, banks, publio hall, library, etc.and will ■■usually foriii also the shopping corilro. Tho absoluto necessity of taking carc'of the architecture of this—tho central object in .'lho whole suburb—Jiuist be annjireiil. This refers riot, only'fothu gToupiiig, but also' to the design ami detail of tho buildings themselves, Wo already rocogniso in out by-laws'the necessity of .protecting from annoyance tho t-eitees•■of. hearing : and smeli of the. eoiniuiihilyi "Is it not tiiuo that \ye equally protected the seiiso of sight?'-- Should' parsimonious "or vulgar owners.bo permitted to destroy tho ameni.ties of a city'or'suburb by tho erection of a cheap arid nasty or a vulgar and ostentatious building ? "Tho provision' of a "building for tho. uso of (ho community- <is a recreation contrb'is a vofy 'common' feature of somo garden suburb developments in England, but more particularly iii America...This is perhaps more common m> far-in the development for housing tho • employees for some large industry, but the exaiupk' might well be followed in any completo garden suburb. This; building comprises ns'a'riile a ftall suitable, for'thc delivery of lectures',' .the staging'of amateur or eVen professional-plays, ■ bowling .alley, rooms for tho eludy of arts -and crafts, and other features according to the.wishes of the particular community." " '