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DOCUMENTARY ART The 50th Year Book 1950-51
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Premières pages de l'ouvrage, en accès libre.
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DECORATIVE ART 1950-51
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DECO
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The STUDIO Yearbook TIVE ART 1950-51 Editors: RATHBONE HOLME & KATHLEEN FROST THE STUDIO PUBLICATIONS London & New York
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ACKNOWLEDGMENTS The Editors wish to express their grateful thanks to all the designers, architects and manufacturers who, by providing photographs and much detailed information, have made the production of this volume possible. Appreciation is also due to our correspondents and friends overseas and especially to: - Miss Carmen Valdes of Saber Vivir (Argentina), - Mrs Gwen Morton Spencer (Australia), Mr D. W. Buchanan (Canada), - Mr Sten Moller (Denmark), Mrs G. L. de Snellman-Jaderholm (Finland), - M. Pierre Vago (France), The Editor of Die Kunst und Das Schöne Heim (Germany), - Mr H. C. Pinfold and the late Mr Donald Pilcher (South Africa), - Mr Stig Björkman of Svenska Hem (Sweden) and Mr Bryan Holme (United States of America). --- PUBLISHED IN LONDON BY THE STUDIO LTD, 66 CHANDOS PLACE, W.C.2, AND IN NEW YORK BY THE STUDIO PUBLICATIONS INC., 432 FOURTH AVENUE PRINTED IN GREAT BRITAIN BY W. S. COWELL LTD, AT THE BUTTER MARKET, IPSWICH
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CONTENTS FOREWORD by THE EDITORS 6 BUILDING A HOUSE IN BRITAIN TODAY by F. R. YERBURY, Hon ARIBA 7 NEW HOUSES in Surrey 16 Santa Barbara, California 18 Vancouver 20 Pretoria 21 Sweden 22 The Colorado Desert 24 Grosse Pointe, Michigan 28 INTERIORS and FURNITURE of America 26 Britain 36 Austria, Germany, Scandinavia 46 Australia, Canada, South Africa 52 France 54 BEDROOMS 58 KITCHENS and BATHROOMS 62 CERAMICS 68 GLASSWARE 88 METALWARE 96 TEXTILES 102 DECORATION and LIGHTING 120
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FOREWORD We are fortunate in having a contribution in this issue from Mr F. R. Yerbury, Hon Ariba, on private building (as opposed to State housing) in Britain today, intended as a guide to the uninitiated. Mr Yerbury can speak with authority from his long experience in the industry, but it should be added that his article was written early in 1950 and that as controls are lifted or imposed without warning, it would be prudent for any intending builder to ascertain all the prevalent regulations before going too far with preliminary negotiations. Though private building in Britain is being done only on a small scale, a similar condition exists in many countries, and the achievement in Britain is of interest to prospective owner-builders far beyond British shores; but it is with a feeling almost approaching envy that British architects will observe herein what has been done recently abroad, particularly in America and Canada. Yet British architects and designers must continue to stifle their frustration and plan for the time when they are once again free to apply themselves in a manner which does not merely pick up the threads of halted progress, but which breaks ground abreast of the latest developments. The designing of furniture is already showing signs of a new school of thought, and the nationality of the designers—apart from the French, which is always distinguishable—is not so apparent as hitherto. True, in Britain the two 1950 exhibitions dealing mainly with furniture showed little difference from previous shows, but fortunately there is a handful of designers, some of whose work appears in this volume, who have broken away from tradition and are producing furniture which suggests that a 1950 style is emerging even in that hide-bound trade of cabinet-making where the ‘three-piece suite’, so beloved by the trade, still occupies ninety per cent of the space at furniture exhibitions. American, Australian, Finnish and Swedish furniture makers appear to ignore any particular set piece, yet in Britain the suburban attitude is ever present, and it is heartening that some British manufacturers are now producing individual pieces which need not necessarily form part of a suite. Furniture exhibitions point to the fact that only in a very few cases is the appreciation of the quality of wood as a material per se allowed to progress in a student after his technical school training. After his absorption into the trade he is apparently forced to deal with wood which is to be cellulose-finished or bleached, a deplorable practice now that synthetic materials are available if plain surfaces are wanted. Pottery, textiles (including carpets), glass, metalware and many other domestic accessories from Europe, the Commonwealth, and North and South America are shown, and here again nationalistic tendencies are not altogether noticeable, although the basic materials may not be similar. National characteristics, at one time prevalent in the decorative wares produced in various parts of the world and responsible for high reputations in this or that country in certain types of goods, are tending to be obliterated by a general raising of standards. Honours are becoming more equally shared. Every country contributes its quota, not in one specialized field, but in all the decorative arts, and the future history of applied imagination and skill for the betterment of the home is already being written. THE EDITORS
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BUILDING A HOUSE IN BRITAIN TODAY It would be pleasant to write an account of house building today if it were an exciting adventure within the reach of everyone. To advise on this or that improvement in technique, to discuss how to make the best use of all the new, and needless to say, excellent materials, the wonderful labour-saving machines, and all the other things which are popularly supposed to make the perfect house. How pleasant it would be to say that all this and more could be done without difficulty and within the financial limits imposed by the average income. If one did, how far it would be from the truth. If you intend to build yourself a house today you must first of all have immense faith, limitless tenacity, vast reserves of patience and a deep purse. In other days, house building was an affair between client, architect and builder, or often simply between client and builder. Nowadays, the Government, in one form or another, is always present. To write this account of Building a House in Britain Today in an optimistic vein would be to mislead those who are contemplating building. Over-pessimism would be equally unfair, but even allowing for this, the plain statement of facts will not be very encouraging. WHAT ARE THE RESTRICTIONS? The Site. Before you can build you must buy a plot of land. Under present Town Planning Law the value of land is fixed by the use to which it is being put. If the use of the land is altered in any way and the alteration makes the land more valuable, the difference between the old and new value belongs, not to the owner of the land, but to the Government. If, therefore, you buy an acre of farming land for ten pounds and apply to put a house on it, the Central Land Board will assess its value as housing land and will ask you to pay them the difference in value. If things were as straightforward as this it would be comparatively simple, but land owners with land suitable for building are not over keen to sell at agricultural prices and are demanding building land price. If you pay this price you will still have to pay the Development Charge as it is called. Thus you will pay something like twice the value of the land as building land. What is the alternative? You could ask the Central Land Board to use its compulsory purchasing powers to obtain the plot you want at the user value. The trouble is that the Board is extremely reluctant to use its powers and there you meet the first snag. In addition to the Development Charge there is the problem of general Town Planning consent for building on that particular piece of land, but you should, of course, have taken advice on this before trying to buy the land. The Licence. Having bought the land and settled the question of the Development Charge you must obtain a licence to build. You will not be able to apply for a licence until the house is designed and approved by the local authority, and an estimate based on a specification has been obtained By F. R. YERBURY Hon ARIBA, Director of The Building Centre, London
