PROMOTION OF BEAUTY

Dominion, Volume 37, Issue 227, 22 June 1944, Page 3

PROMOTION OF BEAUTY

Improvement In City Of

Wellington METHOD SUGGESTED "I think an overseas visitor would be impressed by the lack of architectural harmony and by the impression of disorder which is created by the luck of proper arrangements of the city of Wellington,” said the Government Town Planner, Mr. J. W. Mawson, addressing the annual meeting of the Wellington Beautifying Society last night. "By lack of proper arrangements 1 mean the indiscriminate mixing- of incompatible land uses.” Mr. Mawson spoke of buildings wildly individualistic in design, a jumble of broken horizontal lines, colour and texture, and of the very obvious obsolescence, both functionally and structurally, of a very large percentage of those in the commercial and industrial areas, the bareness of the streets, and the absence of grass verges and tree-planted streets. The things that were done to the buildings, too, were distressing, he said. Some people imagined the primary use of a building was to serve as a structure on which to hang- all kinds of signs which were hideous by night and by day. No one had yet been able to convince him that any sign had sold one extra pint of beer or one extra packet of cigarettes. Such advertising was blatant selfishness. It was interesting to note that the American Courts hud recently ruled that outdoor advertising was an improper use of the streets, except where used to indicate the nature of the business being conducted on the premises. Mr. Mawson, by means of an epidiascope showed a series of photographs supporting his assertions. Civic Beauty,

The qualities of beauty included integrity, unity, order, proportion, fitness, harmony, brightness and clarity, he said. The promotion of civic beauty was a legitimate function delegated by Parliament to the civil authorities. Civic beauty was a necessity for the healthy and pleasant life of the community. Environment had a profound effect on character. Every day children’s characters were spoiled and their natures stunted by the depressing conditions in which they lived. The beautv of a city did not depend alone on beautiful buildings and parks and gardens, but on the elimination of and prevention of everything that was uglysqualid. unhealthy, or unseemly in the environment. The remedy for such things lay in the education of the people to a higher standard. Mr. Mawson said he did not think the city council could right away set out to eliminate the type of things he had mentioned. Education by propaganda would be necessary, education by bodies such as the Wellington Beautifying Society. by learned societies and professional institutions concerned with the arts; by the provision of public libraries and art galleries, and above all by precept and example on the part of the Government and civic authorities. The enactment and enforcement of the ■by-laws and regulations necessary to bring about improvements might be regarded by some as an infringement of the rights of property, but those rights would be worth nothing without the protection aff.orded by the organized force of society anti the urban utilities and services provided and maintained by the community. Mr. Mawson advocated an enlargement of the scope of the beautifying society to include everything in the city’s environment. Also, it was desirable that the British precedent of the establishment of a line arts commission should be followed, ■Such a body would act as the ultimate authority in the event of disagreement between a local body and a local fine arts commission, and would also consider the design of all public buildings and amenities.