Sunday, April 29, 1956
THE MICHIGAN DAILY
Page Sever
Sund'ayI April 29, 1956 THE r MICHIrGAN r. r v rr rAILY PnAl- oV.
"We're not interested in establishing
a set style but rather in employing the best ideas
and concepts of modern building"
"honesty." "Many buildings pre- came from Prof. Hammett: "The - I
tend to be what they are not. A architecture of the main campus
library should look like a library, is obviously an ultimate of diver-
not a Gothic Cathedral," he said sity but isn't that better than a1Z'
in reference to a well-known East- costume straight-jacket? Schools
ern school. "The law school vio- with one style have beauty but the
latea this to some extent. The University should and is develop-
Rackham Building, the Taj Mahal ing individual styles. As each
of higher education, is uneconomi- building is erected it is studied by
cal with a great deal of wasted an architect working toward that
space" aim, Buildings are as individual as
There exists among many ex- the times in which they are built
perts a belief that buildings pro-' and the people who build them.
perly designed functionally will Prof. Huntley asks, "Is not the
have the second necessity of archi- new architecture as beautiful as ° ''a
tecture - beauty. the crumbling-stone Ivy League?
Frequently the Administration At Oxford there has altays been
building comes under fire for an one style but here swe have a mod-
alleged lack of beauty due to its ern school and it would be imit- -
orane brick as well as its design. tion to follow a set pattemn.
Many people claim that the back
side is considerably better looking >OSSIBLY the key to beauty of
than the side facing State Street campu' 'cciectumec is to be
Prof. Hintley argues, however found i the aidseaping of the
that "the front has always im oinds. Prof. Lranso pt is it
pressed me as very business-like, this ay: "Acsthetic valum lb-t
and, while the back may be slight- can be gammed by removas of build
ly more attractive. possibly some inss ahich have outliscd their
foresight was shown since this Side usefulness is tremendous
faces the Student Activities, Pub-
lications and the University Prss "For instance," Prof. Larson i-
lustrates, "a wonderful feeling of
buildings." openness and beauty is felt when
Many subjective factors enter you walk from the northwest cor-
Into the aesthetic evaluation of a ner of campus toward the Engine
building. It has been said the Arch. Won't it be better when the
color of the brick has softened Romance Language building is re-
somewhat since the Administra- moved and someone coming from ROMANCE LANGUAGE - CROW
tion building's construc on, a fact the Union can look all the way
that may have led to a more favor- across campus? The considerable
able reaction in recent years. Prof. congestion on campus shouldn't
Theodore Larson of the architec- be compounded by adding new
ture school, points out that when buildings where old ones are
the building was erected another coming down."
red brick building stood between Sitting in his Unistrut office in
it and the Union and the colors the yard of the architecture build-
clashed. ing, Prof. Larson pointed to the
southeast corner of the Law Quad,
THE ECONOMICAL advantages the only one still open, and com-
of modern architecture are mented on the desirability of be-
quite large. "Angell Hall, for in- ing able to look into the center.
stance, is an example of a build- "It's an odd paradox that beauty
ing where a great deal of money can be created by tearing down,"
was spent on the outside and the he reflected.
inside suffered," Fry said. "The Unisersity architects hope that
tiful building and this was ac- sometime in the near future Bar-
complished with little exterior or- bour and Waterman Gymnasiums
namntisio. The moderu archi- will come down to help provide
naetain Temoenarh-the needed open space. I
tect gets his beauty by the ar-
rangement of mass, and doesn't
rely on the complex handiwork THE UNIVERSITY faces many
of the older buildings." problems which the sidewalk
Modern architecture also calls superintendent is often unable to
for economy of space. As Prof. see.
Huntley said, "You can get more A basic problem results from.
for your money in modern designs attempting to "accommodate aca-
than in the false type of build- demic function" to space and
ings. The huge size of the reading economy. It has been observed
room in the main library is un- that occasionally cold facts such
necessary and another floor might as the emptying and refilling of ECONOMICS BUILDING - NEW P
have been added there. We will four auditoriums, holding approxi-
get more for our money in the mately 1,000 persons at one time
new undergraduate library in get- are overlooked in building design.
ting away from the Grand Cen- The University is broken down
tral Station architecture of the into four smaller campus areas:
present structure." the athletic plant, the central..
campus, the Medical Center area
HE INEVITABLE result of the and North Campus. On the first 4/
University policy," keeping three lack of space limits the ar-
pace with the times," is a patch- chitect in his work. However, on
work effect or perhaps an tar- North Campus the plentiful sup-
chitectural treasury." But the ad- ply of land makes these space
vantages are so great that even limitations less pressing.
such conservative and establishd Money, or rather a lack of it,
institutions as Harvard and Yale is another major problem. Many
have switched to modern concepts experts recognize the desirability
in building. of erecting new buildings to re-
Such a diversity in architecture place those that have outlived
need not lack harmony. Prof. San- their usefulness but the finances
ders feels that the architect can are not always available. A l I
help buildings to relate effectively Sometimes smaller units are
to each other even if they are not feasible, but again the cost factor' r
of one style. "Sometimes we fail enters the situation and a larger,
to do this in the short run, but complex building is the-result.
the final effect will still be there." But the University is making ajI
Criticism of the multiplicity of great effort to overcome these dif-
architecture is not justified when ficulties. There is a staff designed
the moving, advancing nature of to handle the financing, an ar-
the art is considered. It has been chitectural staff, and two faculty
suggested that if a consistent pol- advisory groups which contribute
icy were followed everything on their aid. All of these groups are
campus might wind up looking working to make the University a
like the Romance Language build- more desirable place. Our archi-
ing' tecture, far from being in an un-
One of the best analysis of the healthy state, has a great deal of
state of University architecture "rhvme and reason." HAVEN HALL - BEAUTY BY ARE
VDED OUT OF SIGHT
PRAISE FOR THE OLD
RANGEMENT OF MASS