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m^zs\m BULLETIN 
 
 OF 
 
 THE UNIVERSITY OF TEXAS 
 
 NO. 176 
 
 .ISSUED FOUR TIMES A MONTH 
 
 GENERAL SERIES NO. 20 MARCH 22, 1911 
 
 Academic Training In Architecture 
 
 BY 
 
 HUGO FRANZ KUEHNE, C.E., B.S., 
 
 Adjunct Professor of Aichitecture 
 The University of Texas. 
 
 PUBLISHED BY THE UNIVERSITY OF TEXAS 
 
 AUSTIN. TEXAS 
 
 Entered ai ^econd-clasi mail matter at the postoffice at Austin, Texas 
 
 AUSTIN, TEXAS 
 
 AuyriN Primtino Co, 
 
 1911 
 
PUBLICATIONS 
 
 OF THE 
 
 UNIVERSITY OF TEXAS 
 
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 Manager; Robert A. Law, N. L. Goodrich, F. W. Slmonds, A. C. Scott, John 
 A. Lomax, James J. Terrill, C. S. Potts, E. E. Rail. 
 
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 4. Ooures of Btudy in Law Pursued in the University of Texas, by J. 0. 
 
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 7. The Consolidation of Rural Schools, by Una Bedichek and G. T. Baskett 
 
 New edition, enlarged by A. C. Ellis. 85 p., illus. November, 1907* 
 
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 (Continued on inside back cover) 
 
62-llMm-4492 
 
 BULLETIN 
 
 OF 
 
 THE UNIVERSITY OF TEXAS 
 
 NO. 176 
 
 •ISSUED FOUR TIMES A MONTH 
 
 GENERAL SERIES NO. 20 MARCH 22, 1911 
 
 Academic Training In Architecture 
 
 BY 
 
 HUGO FRANZ KUEHNE, C.E , B.S., 
 
 Adjunct Professor of Aichitecture 
 The University of Texas. • 
 
 PUBLISHED BY THE UNIVERSITY OF TEXAS 
 
 AUSTIN. TEXAS 
 
 Entered as second-class mail matter at the postoffice at Austin, Texas 
 
 AUSTIN. TEXAS 
 
 AirSTIN PRlNTINt; Ctl 
 
 1911 
 
 s 
 
NA 
 
 K^6 
 
 P\r. 530 
 
ACADEMIC TRAINING IN ARCHITECTURE 
 
 In all fields of education, before we can determine methods 
 we must first define our subject matter. In other words we must 
 first have a definite knowledge of the essential nature of our 
 subject matter; and a clear understanding of the proper atti- 
 tude to assume toward it. This may seem a self-evident asser- 
 tion ; and it may justly be so concerning many of the sciences 
 and professions. The majority of educated people have a quite 
 definite conception of the nature of civil, electrical, mechanical, 
 mining, and sanitary engineering, as well as medicine and law; 
 and also a fairly clear idea about the attitude assumed toward 
 these subjects by scholars, educators, and students. But it is 
 extremely curious to note that there is a woeful lack of knowl- 
 edge concerning the true nature and subject matter of archi- 
 tecture, not only by people of average education, but also peo- 
 ple of higher culture. There is confusion not only as to the true 
 nature of architecture, per se, but especially in regard to aca- 
 demic training in it. This is strange when we consider that ar- 
 chitecture is the first art, the first science, the first evidence 
 of civilization in the evolution of .man. An art whose 
 beginning dates back to the very genesis of civilization ought 
 surely to be as familiar to every man as a science which is hardly 
 a century old. For instance, consider the youth of the science 
 of electrical engineering; who would say that it is shrouded 
 in mystery, vouchsafed only to a few who practice it, as the 
 sacred knowledge of the high priests, 'hidden away in the inner- 
 most sanctuary of the temple! 
 
 Just why this lack of aesthetic appreciation and education 
 in- the history of the fine arts prevails is perhaps a problem for 
 pedagogy or psychology to settle. It must, however, be borne 
 in mind that its universality is not of equal degree. The older a 
 community, the more marked is the development of general 
 knowledge in this direction. It seems that only as we reach the 
 highest planes of culture, do we realize that such knowledge is 
 an essential part of a man 's education. But in how many places 
 do we find it touched upon in our schools and higher institutions 
 
of learning? Not the slightest mention or attempt is made to 
 teach the essentials and history of the most vital art— the art 
 in which we live and move and have our being. 
 
 In a discussion of academic training in architecture it is par- 
 ticularly necessary first to define clearly its subject matter and 
 its intrinsic nature. It is only when we are thoroughly clear 
 on these points that we can proceed to establish intelligent meth- 
 ods of training. In the following pages an attempt will be made 
 to give a satisfactory definition of architecture in accordance 
 with the trend of modem thought, and then a discussion of 
 methods of academic training based on this definition. 
 
 Before setting out to define the true nature of architecture 
 it will be neecssary, however, to dissociate in the mind the mod- 
 ern division of architecture into two professions, as contrasted 
 with the original unity of the subject. In other words, within 
 the past fifty years building has, in one phase, developed into 
 an engineering science. There has been a marriage, so to speak, 
 between building construction, or architecture in its narrowest 
 sense, and civil engineering. If we turn to history and trace the 
 development of architecture, we notice an original freedom from 
 the pure sciences. Whatever pure science entered into Greek, Ro- 
 manesque, Gothic, and even Eenaissance architecture, was con- 
 fined to the simple laws of masonry engineering, expressed in 
 the principles of the arch, vault, and foundations, for which it 
 is doubtful if any exact science existed. Construction was based 
 on common sense rather than on elaborate formulae of graphics, 
 statics, and mechanics. Through all the ages architecture 
 possessed a unity and singularity of principle, which preserved 
 its nature as a pure art. 
 
 However, with the advent of steel, armored concrete, the com- 
 plex systems of heating and ventilating, electric lighting, plumb- 
 ing, refrigerating, pneumatic tubes, elevators, and other ac- 
 cessories and conveniences of modern life, we find architec- 
 ture assuming a much wider scope. Thus have arisen the 
 professions of architectural engineering, heating and ventilating 
 engineering, electric Lighting and sanitary engineering of build- 
 ings, etc., etc. The modern hotel, perhaps, expresses the most 
 complex outcome of this evolution. 
 
 The first of these, architectural engineering, is the most closely 
 associated with architecture in its original state. The other me- 
 
— 5— 
 
 chanical phases have been divt>ieed from the architectural pro- 
 fession and given over to specialties. We, therefore, have two 
 kinds of architeeture: viz., Pure Architecture and Architectural 
 Engineering. These must not be confused, although the points 
 of fusion and mutual absorption are many. Hence we find in 
 all the catalogs of the larger institutions of learning two courses 
 in the department of architecture, one of pure architecture and 
 the other of architectural engineering, each fitting its men for 
 'special duties but still maintaining a close relationship between 
 each other. 
 
 We are now prepared to attempt an answer to our first question, 
 What is architecture, and what is the intrinsic nature of.|;he sub- 
 ject matter of this expression of the human intellect? In turn- 
 ing back it will be noticed that the word Art was used synony- 
 mously with the word Architecture. True, architecture is an art, 
 and we may even say that it is a fine art. Now the first question 
 that arises is, Why is architecture a fine art? 
 
 Why are painting, sculpture, and mtisic regarded as fine arts? 
 The answer is the same for all. It is because they are the ex- 
 pression of the ethos, the soul-life, the inner nature of the in- 
 dividuals or nations that have produced them. They reflect in- 
 dividuality and character. They represent an attempt to re- 
 create objectively the subjective. They are material interpreta- 
 tions of the emotions, impressions, and feelings that stir the 
 human soul. Art thus becomes a language — a language of form, 
 line, color, and sound, by means of which men's souls communi- 
 cate \vith each other. Hence an art, as defined by Prof. Van 
 Pelt, is the "intentional creation of a medium, whether of color, 
 form, or tone, which is capable of producing the sentiments and 
 impressions felt by the creator in those beholders who are cap- 
 able of responding to such sentiments and impressions." 
 
 Now this should be true of every work of architecture, not for 
 arbitrary reasons of sentiment, or because a particular class of 
 human beings wish it so, but because such is really true of ar- 
 chitecture in the past. It is not that we wish to impose it upon 
 architecture as a necessary condition of perfection, but that we 
 are simply continuing the work of ages, perpetuating those 
 principles and essentials which we find common and fundamental 
 in all the architecture of the great styles of the past. Thus, 
 Egyptian architecture is unmistakably Egyptian. Greek and 
 
— 6— 
 
 Roman architecture are classical, yet that which developed in 
 Greese is distinctly Greek, while that which is indigenous to 
 Rome is characteristically Roman. Thus the Basilica of Con- 
 stantine is incontrovertibly Roman although stripped of every 
 vestige of ornament. Again, Japanese art is distinctly Jap- 
 anese. Each of the foregoing reflects certain characteristics and 
 intellectual developments of the race that produced them. This 
 same truth is shown to a much finer degree in the Gothic and 
 Renaissance periods, where the Italian differs from the French, 
 and the English from the German. Architecture then, like the 
 language of the race itself, has its individuality and distinctive 
 character in each country. Even different sections of the same 
 country will differ in their architectural expression, much as a 
 different dialect may prevail in each. Of course material en- 
 vironment has its modifying influences, determining the mate- 
 rials of expression, but never changing the spirit of the race 
 characteristics. In its highest expression it has always been most 
 intimately associated with the expression of man's religious in- 
 stinct. Prom the Pyramids to the Gothic cathedral. Religion has 
 inspired the noblest and sublimest works of architecture. It is 
 by this very element, in fact, this endeavor to express religious 
 aspiration — the creation of a shrine worthy of bearing the image 
 of a God — that architecture rose to the position of the highest 
 art. And the character of the religion professed by different 
 peoples at different times has always been reflected in their 
 architecture. That is why Architecture is a fine art, in fact, 
 perhaps the greatest of all the arts, for it may lay claim to 
 priority in point of time, scope, and nearness to human life. 
 Sculpture and painting may be considered after-developments, 
 outgrowths, so to speak; and from the classic ages down to the 
 present day certain branches of both sculpture and painting are 
 among the essential manifestations of it. Thus, monuments, 
 sculptured ornament, carving, decoration and mural painting, 
 and colored ornamentation, are all a part of the subject matter 
 of architecture. 
 
 And surely architecture is the most practical of all the arts. 
 Its very origin is founded on a human need. It sprang from 
 man's attempt to shelter himself from the external elements 
 of nature. From the primitive cave dwelling it has in its various 
 developments become the home, the haven of an awakening race ■ 
 
or it has become the tabernacle of the devout where they may 
 glorify the Lord and sing His praises; or it has become the 
 tribunal of law where the conduct of individuals and of nations 
 is regulated ; or it has become the shelter of learning, the cradle 
 of a new civilization. What, then, is nobler than this art which 
 touches life at every point in all its activities and manifestations ! 
 Do we accord it the reverence, respect, and interest that are due 
 it? Are we not guilty of an inappreciation of its importance 
 and power in the development of human life? Should we not 
 establish in it the highest standards that lie within our power? 
 A painting or statue is hidden away in a museum, or in the ease 
 of the latter, perhaps erected iu the open sunlight, yet 
 only a small percentage of mankind behold either. But the 
 work of architecture, like nature herself, stands forever beneath 
 the free canopy of heaven, where age after age passess the stream 
 of human life, even unto eternity. How much greater the value 
 of perfection in this omnipresent art that is reflected in the eye 
 of every human being. Should not these universal impressions 
 created in our brains be of the noblest and highest? By their 
 endless repetition they gradully mould the taste, sentiment, and 
 culture of a people. True as it is that architecture is the ex- 
 pression of the ethos of a people, there is also a reflex action in 
 its influence on the life of the people themselves. Through the 
 constant association with the good and beautiful the standards 
 of taste, refinement, and culture of the masses is raised to higher 
 levels. Architecture, therefore, has a mission to perform. It is not 
 only a fine art, but a living art, and by its life must raise man- 
 kind to higher planes, to the fullest expression of the divine 
 that is within. 
 
 Numerous have been the definitions of architecture. Many 
 are too absurd to consider Seriously, the majority are inaccurate, 
 fragmentary, and misleading. Now, the surest way to arrive at 
 a satisfactory answer is to study the past, to study those crea- 
 tions of peoples whose ethos has been immortalised in their ar- 
 chitecture, where their architecture was the highest development 
 of their civilization. Thus to the Greek, the Roman, and the 
 Gothic builders we must go. In studying their works we shall 
 find certain qualities, attributes, or elements which are universal 
 and predominant. What are these principles? A careful an- 
 
alysis, I believe, will show them to be solidity or soundness of 
 construction; a fitness of things, e. g. usefuhaess; individuality 
 or expressiveness; and beauty or sincerity. Any accurate and 
 logical definition must contain these fundamental principles. 
 Now many of the definitions of the writers of the past include 
 them all. Ruskin in his "Seven Lamps of Architecture" says, 
 "Architecture is the art which so disposes and adorns the ed- 
 ifices raised by man for whatever purposes, that the sight of them 
 may contribute to his mental health, power, and pleasure." 
 Manifestly this is only a plea for outward show. Again we have 
 the definition that "Architecture is the art of building, planning, 
 and decorating buildings." This is likewise inaccurate and in- 
 complete. Better, however, is Prof. Hamlin's definition: "Ar- 
 chitecture is the art that seeks to harmonize in a building the 
 requirements of utility and beauty." Here we find a recogni- 
 tion that the architect is more than a mere decorator and dress- 
 maker. The chief merit of the foregoing definition, however, 
 lies in the fact that it makes beauty tantamount to usefulness. 
 It proclaims beauty to be co-essential with the other qualities, 
 which is very important; for right here most definitions jEail,asit 
 is an almost universal idea that beauty is a thing apart, a 
 quality which buildings can do without. "Instead of proclaim- 
 ing the importance of beauty, its independence almost, they have 
 reduced it to being simply the accompanimenx of the useful. 
 They have designed as a pure accessory of construction that part 
 of it which is the most subtle, the most illustrions, the most ele- 
 vated, the most rare. Such is not the definition of architecture 
 for those who esteem this art at its value, sometimes sublime, 
 sometimes beautiful, sometimes graceful, but always dignified, 
 always associated with the grandeur of nations and with their 
 glory."* 
 
 But have wc so far' reached a complete definition ? "What has 
 
 been said of the principles of soundness, solidity, and expression? 
 
 Where has that element of personality, individuality, and of re- 
 
 siKuisibility been recognized? Light is thrown on these matters 
 
 by Professor Laird's definition of an architect. "Thus we 
 
 regard the architect as the creator of buildings with a three-fold 
 
 function : he must so shape and assemble the parts of his strnc- 
 
 *Charles Blanc, "Grammaire des Arts du Dessin " Translation 
 Technology Architectural Record, Vol. 1. ^^^^™- translation. 
 
ture as to produce a convenient, logical working organism, fitted 
 to certain practical uses. He must give to these parts severally, 
 and to their ensemble, good proportions and color, suitable orna- 
 ment and a final effect of character and sentiment appropriate 
 to the special purpose of the building; and while doing these 
 things he must keep constantly in mind the nature of his build- 
 ing materials and their possibilities and limitations to the end 
 that his building may be sound and economical in construction. ' ' 
 Summing up these principles we may formulate the following 
 definition: Architecture is the art of conceiving and creating 
 buildings which are to serve the lises of tnaiikind in the most 
 beautiful, durable, and expressive form. 
 
 A few words more of amplification before we proceed to our 
 next question. We note in the first place that the fullest re- 
 sponsibility of the architect for the finished product and its 
 permanency is recognized. Just as a painting, or a piece of 
 sculpture, or a symphony is the creation and product of the brain 
 and the imagination of the artist and musician, even so is a 
 building ultimately the creation and product of the mind of the 
 architect, although the result may have been attained by the 
 co-operation and collaboration of contractor, engineer, and spec- 
 ialist. The original conception, however, and the final carying 
 out of it are beyond doubt a fragment of the genius of the ar- 
 chitect. This is but fulfilling the first law that architecture is a 
 fine art. Individuality and character enter here, two of the first 
 canons of art, whereby the work of one architect may be dis- 
 tinguished from that of another. A Rembrandt needs no sig- 
 nature to identify it ; a sculpture of Rodin needs no inscription ; 
 a Wagnerian opera needs no announcement to be recognized: 
 likewise a building of Palladio, of Michael Angelo, of Richard- 
 son needs no tablet to proclaim its authorship. Sometimes this 
 individuality becomes a spirit common to a group of men, or -a 
 community, or a nation. This is illustrated in modern times by 
 the firm of McKim, Meade, and White, where a spirit of class- 
 icism was born and preserved and individualized, even though 
 the original members of the firm have passed away. It is here 
 that the ethos of the individual is expressed. Each design is a 
 very part of himself, imbued with the spirit of his own emotional, 
 spiritual, and intellectual life. The delicacy and refinement of 
 
-10— 
 
 his sentiment, the loftiness of his ideals, the sincerity of his in- 
 tellect will in his work be exhibited to the world. 
 
 Another thing we note in the foregoing definition is the recog- 
 nition that architecture has a living quality — a living purpose, 
 e. g., an element of service and security. Of what avail is the 
 work of art if it live but a day? Of what value is it if its in- 
 tegrity be false ? Who does not experience a secret sense of dis- 
 appointment in the contemplation of the Dome of St. Peters? 
 To know that its capacity to stand as a glorious culmination of 
 the Italian Renaissance and of Rome, depends upon the sustain- 
 ing bonds of massive chains hidden away in its fabric, mars its 
 artistic nobility and impresses it with failure as a true work of 
 art. And where is the glory of the Campanile of Venice? How 
 much longer will the Tower of Pisa charm the traveler ? Do they 
 rise to the full measure of perfection that we set for true art? 
 Beauty which does not frankly and sincerely sustain itself is 
 false beauty, like paint upon a girl's cheek. And from the hu- 
 manitarian standpoint those edifices erected by man which are not 
 ■Sfife surely stand condemned as menaces to human life. So where 
 service to the practical need of humanity is the paramount con- 
 sideration the works of architecture must be sound, permanent, 
 and protective of human life. And where these works are purely 
 for the edification of our minds and souls, such as our monu- 
 ments, they should be lasting and eternal, even as the great 
 Pyramids of Ghizeh are eternal. 
 
 Again we notice that due importance is given to the element 
 of utility, which in the complexity of our modern life becomes 
 one of, the most difficult problems. It is a most disturbing and 
 treacherous quality, for how often is a cherished conception 
 blasted by the rigor of its demands ? It becomes a factor whose 
 tendency is to neutralize the results obtained by the other ele- 
 ments. However, it is the very backbone of the architectural 
 organism. It becomes the altar where art and science unite, 
 often to the detriment of the former. We are often forced to 
 sacrifice consideration of beauty for considerations of useful- 
 ness. But a reconciliation may be sought in the element of logic 
 Whatever is logical is good. "Le raisonnement, e'est la base de 
 1 'Architecture." If whatever we do is reasonable and natural, 
 we may feel fairly safe that our work will merit the name of art. 
 
—li- 
 lt is in satisfying this quality that the architect must call in the 
 aid of the engineer, specialist, and scientist. But it is in mas- 
 tering this difficulty, and producing the most harmonious and 
 beautiful whole, whatever the exigencies of the problem, that 
 the glory of modern architecture lies. It is here that super- 
 iority of genius will assert itself. 
 
 Lastly, we come to that quality which is the most illusive and 
 rare of all. It is a quality that results from the fact that to be 
 a fine art, architecture must express those first laws of aesthetics 
 designated as Truth and Sincerity. These imply a fitness of 
 things, an integrity of expression that will leave no doubt in the 
 mind of the beholder as to the purpose of the work. Deception, 
 fraud, and hypocrisy, all imitations and false pretensions, con- 
 vict a work of architecture of immorality and spiritual 
 degeneracy. Therefore a work of architecture should be 
 so created that it will sincerely and truthfully express its pur- 
 pose as well as its construction and material. Thus a church 
 should say, ' ' I am a church ; ' ' and a school should say, ' ' I am a 
 school ; ' ' and a theater should proclaim that it is a theater. A re- 
 cent English writer, Mr. Statham, very clearly rr^:x)gnizes this 
 point when he says that architecture "is the art of creating ex- 
 pressive and beautiful buildings. ' ' This emphasises the idea of ex- 
 pression and is given as his reason for placing it first. Again Mr. 
 Lloyd Warren shows how strongly this element has manifested 
 itself in the thought and practice of French architects. We find 
 them "searching to express their interior plan in every way on 
 the exterior, and even their manner of construction * * * and 
 moreover at any cost stamping their building with the character 
 of its use." Ttis is exemplified in the Grand Palais in Paris, 
 where the steel work is left exposed and itself made ornamental. 
 And in buildings of commercial character we find an example 
 in the Rue de Rennes, where the structural steel is frankly shown 
 on the exterior. This would violate our building law of fire 
 proofing, but the spirit of expression is there,' which is the point 
 I wish to illustrate. The question of this particular form of 
 expression is foreign to our subject. The important thing is 
 that there be some form of expression, and it is herein that the 
 genius of the architect manifests itself. This expression of the 
 uses of a biiilding on the exterior by the arrangement of masses 
 and lines, color, structural form, the application of ornament 
 
—12— 
 
 and decoration, the infusion of feeling and sentiment into the 
 composition, this is the greatest task of the imagination and in- 
 ventive ability of the architect. Success in these things was the 
 mark of greatness in the old masters. 
 
 We may now proceed to a consideration of the second ques- 
 tion, What should be the academic attitude toward this art, 
 and of what should the academic training of the architect con- 
 sist? 
 
 At the outset there are two considerations which we must not 
 forget: First, we ai'e dealing with the pedagogy of a fine art; 
 and, secondly, we are dealing with a training that has developed 
 into such complexity and comprehensiveness that it has become 
 the broadest and widest of all professional education. 
 
 The teaching of a fine art leads us into a field of pedagogy 
 with a distinct and charaeterisic nature. Methods in vogue in 
 other fields of education do not apply here, with the result that 
 we either have to modify them or establish new ones. This is 
 true because art is an intangible something, not expressible in 
 the form of laws, rules, formulae, or tables and codes. It is 
 a feeling. Now this phase of the human intellect — ^that is, art 
 considered subjectively, not the external concrete products, may 
 be analysed into two manifestations. On the one hand we have 
 that part which is psychic, and on the other that part which 
 is physical. The one we may call genius, the other talent. The 
 first consists of an abnormal development of certain powers or 
 faculties of the intellect. It is the innate capacity for an un- 
 usually strong and keen mental-life and soul-life— a capacity 
 for intense imagery, emotion, and reason. In a broader sense, 
 it is preternatural endowment of uncommon powers of invention 
 or vigor of intellect or a superiority of mentality in some one 
 direction. Genius is therefore inborn, an inheritance. It may, 
 however, remain merely dormant and nascent and may never 
 find expression in the life of the individual so endowed. 
 
 In our present case genius would be the innate capacity of 
 intense imagination, profundity of conception, easy creative abil- 
 ity, and acute power of analysis. Furthermore, genius would 
 here imply a deep soul-life, a highly developed sensibility for 
 emotion and feeling, and a power of understanding the highest 
 pinnacles of ecstasy and the lowest depths of despair. All these 
 things are within, a part of the soul or mind." Now, it 
 
—13— 
 
 is the object of art training to bring these things out, to unfold 
 them to the world, to develop them and guide them to the fullest 
 possibility of expression. TTiis leads us to that second phase 
 which we call talent. Talent, therefore, becomes the power or 
 capacity for expression and execution. It is the power in the 
 individual which enables him to impart his inner mental, spirit- 
 ual, and emotional life to the outer world. Genius is the inner 
 life of feeling and thought, while talent is the vehicle for con- 
 veying this life to the world, or in other words technique. There 
 may be individuals endowed with all the intensity of feeling and 
 emotion, individuals who have a vivid consciousness of what they 
 know, or think or feel, but who must remain forever mute because 
 of the lack of the power to express this consciousness. I believe, 
 however, that such individuals if taken in early life and given 
 the proper training can develop a power of expression. On the 
 other hand, a person may possess wonderful technique and yet 
 never rise to the rank of a true artist, for the possession of the 
 psychic element is the essential thing. This is especially true 
 of architecture. Given the psychic, the physical will follow 
 later if given the proper encouragement and stimulus. In other 
 words, talent or the power of expression and execution is not 
 necessarily an innate inherited quality, nor is a natural gift 
 therein prerequisite for success. What is prerequisite, is the in- 
 nate dormant genius, the existence of an undeveloped capacity. 
 The object of the foregoing is to correct the general belief that 
 an inborn talent is necessary for achievement in art. 
 
 It is the function of academic training to find the spark 
 of genius and to nourish and develop it, so that it may grow 
 into an intense fire whose light will reach far and wide oyer 
 the earth and through time. Fortunately we find that either 
 one or both may be already highly developed in the in- 
 dividual during adolescence, or we may find them de- 
 veloped to various extents in all stages of the life of 
 the individual. Of course the early development of those is of 
 immense advantage, and progress is greatly accelerated in such 
 a case. Evidences of genius are usually found at an early stage, 
 while talent may not show itself until late in life. In other 
 words the psychic may be merely definitely existant, or it may 
 be developed long before the physical power of expression mani- 
 fests itself. We need only point to Israels to illustrate this. 
 
—14— 
 
 Here was an artist who for thirty years of his life was a com- 
 plete failure at technique and expression, but who gradually 
 found himself and in the winter of his life produced his greatest 
 works. And thus there are many who in the beginning of the 
 study seem utterly impossible but afterwards develop into mas- 
 ters. "Not each one of us, it is true," says Prof. Van Pelt, "has 
 the artistic spirit in the same degree; but if we are glad to do 
 what we are doing, an early inability to do it well should not 
 disturb us. Some artists, often the greatest develop but slowly ; 
 and the truly artistic nature, in its embryonic stage, is evidenced 
 more by the love of art, coupled with innate delicacy of tem- 
 perament, refinement, and strength of character, than by the 
 clever brush or pencil stroke we are tempted to aceept as its 
 index. ' ' 
 
 How is academic training going to develop this hidden power, 
 to quicken the embers of genius until they blaze forth in full 
 glory? How is it going to help the aspirant to acquire talent to 
 express this quickened flame ? There is obviously no dispensary 
 of such things where the student can go and fill himself. But 
 whatever the means, we at least know the result desired. With 
 the given potentiality of genius, it is the function of such train- 
 ing to bring out and develop the creative faculty, the imagina- 
 tion, the powers of expression or technique, and the subtler 
 quality — the artistic spirit. Now it may seem a paradox but it is 
 nevertheless true, that this development must come from within. 
 It must be self-cultivated, absorbed, and inspired. It must be 
 borne in mind, that in teaching a fine art, we are dealing with a 
 spirit, a feeling so to speak, and not a concrete organization of 
 facts, laws, and formulae, and that therefore the student cannot 
 acquire artistic proficiency through the reading of a definite 
 number of books, or by learning a definite number of facts and 
 rules, or by working a certain number of problems; but he ac- 
 quires his ability through the awakening of the nucleus within 
 him and the gradual growth of the nascent powers with which 
 he is endowed. This must be accomplished through guidance 
 by superiors ; faith in their standards, in their precepts, in their 
 taste, and ideas ; and along with this must go a respect and rev- 
 erence for the master ; through criticism and study of precedent, 
 and the lives and work of others ; and through inspiration. All 
 that the master can do for the student is to guide and lead and 
 
—15— 
 
 inspire; the work itself must be done by the student himself. 
 This, then, is the fundamental principle in the teaching of this 
 subject, and this is what academic training means. To illustrate 
 this point let us take the matter of charcoal drawing from a 
 plaster cast or the human figure. The most that an instructor 
 can do is to tell the student what not to do, and perhaps by actual 
 demonstration show how best to attain certain results. In- 
 dividuality, character, and style he cannot transmit to the stu- 
 dent. He may draw the figure until doom's day, or discourse 
 himself out of voice on the principles of freehand drawing, and 
 in the end leave the student not a whit better off than before. 
 Achievement must come from within : the student must draw the 
 thing over and over again himself, perhaps in the end awakening 
 to the realization of a single truth. Mastery comes through him- 
 self, and so he must work away and persevere with patience, 
 always thinking for himself. 
 
 This is the essential idea in all art training. It is clear, there- 
 fore, that our methods will be somewhat different from those in 
 other branches of education, and that a characteristic environ- 
 ment for the student is necessary. The matter of environment 
 I shall discuss later. 
 
 We now come to the second consideration, that of the range 
 of architectural training. According, to Prof. Warren P. Laird, 
 "The. scope of the architect's work today ranges from pure art 
 to pure science. It requires a sympathetic understanding of the 
 technique on the one hand of engineering — structural, sanitary, 
 electrical and mechanical — and on the other of sculpture and 
 painting, whose works are most notable when conjoined with 
 those of the architect. His duties bring him into direct and re- 
 sponsible contact with business questions of investment and with 
 problems of design based purely on sentiment. He is expected 
 to be expert ; as an artist, in design ; as an engineer, in construc- 
 tion; as an administrator in the practical execution and legal 
 protection of his client's affairs. He must know how to de- 
 sign not only buildings, but bridges; not only gardens but cities. 
 He must solve problems ranging from church to factory, from 
 commemorative monuments to caisson foundations." President 
 Eliot emphasized the broadness of architectural training in 
 his statement that the training of an architect was far wider 
 in its scope than that of the lawyer, the engineer, and the physi- 
 
—16— 
 
 eian. Now it would seem that such versatility and profoundness 
 were beyond the power of a single individual. But here again we 
 need not be discouraged, for we need only point back to the 
 masters of the Italian Renaissance. If we should confess alarm 
 it would be a sad comment upon our present civilization ; in fact, 
 it would be a declaration of retrogression instead of advance- 
 ment in our intellectual and cultural evolution. Consider the 
 powers of such men as Perruzzi, Michael Angelo, Vasari, Palla- 
 dio, and Da Vinci. Some there were in whom were combined 
 Painter, Sculptor, Architect, Man of Letters, and Scientist, and 
 of all of them it was true that they were proficient in two or 
 three arts. The question now arises, is it possible for an aca- 
 demic training, in the time usually allotted, to educate the stu- 
 dent in all the ramifications of the field? In the words of 
 Prof. Laird: "Manifestly then we must teach fundamentals; 
 must lay a broad and firm foundation for the superstructure 
 of the student's later career. But it is equally manifest that he 
 must be developed as an individual, for the strength and re- 
 sources of his pei'sonality will be the measure of his success as 
 an architect, quite as truly as it determines that of the artist 
 in other fields." This must, in fact, be the aim of all professional 
 training. 
 
 What, then, will our course consist of? What are the funda- 
 mentals that we must inculcate? From the foregoing it 'wall 
 be seen that architectural training may naturally be di- 
 vided into fmir great groups of study. First, there is the study 
 of terhniffrte or expression, requiring the training of the hand, 
 eye, and delicate perception ; second, there is the study of compo- 
 sition andkdesign, requiring the training of the imagination and 
 reason ; third, there is the study of the wide field of history and 
 archaeologj^, which will develop taste, refinement, and culture; 
 and fourth, there is the study of the practical side of the pro- 
 fession, including construction and practice, which will enable 
 the architect to plant the flowers of his genius. Now it is fun- 
 damentals in each of these that academic training aims at. Let 
 us discuss them in order. 
 
 1. Technique 
 
 Technique or the power of expression and execution which 
 we have defined as talent— in the present case architectural tal- 
 
—17— 
 
 ent — is one of the first things to cultivate in our training. Upon 
 .proficiency therein rests in a large measure the future success 
 of the student. But it is an accomplishment which cannot be 
 taught in the_ usual sense of the word. It is something that 
 cannot be instilled or infused into the student. In teaching it 
 we must have recourse to the negative method. The most that 
 can be done is to show what not to do, what to avoid, and to 
 explain the result consequent upon the use of certain methods 
 and artifices. Proficiency comes through the students artistic 
 instinct. It must be achieved through personal interest in the 
 work, through constant effort, through indomitable persever- 
 ence and everlasting practice. There is little difference in learn- 
 ing how to draw and how to play some musical instrument. 
 An early manifestation of talent, of course, is an acceleration, 
 but even those who for half of their lives are failures may yet 
 in the end through the divine gift of patience reach the coveted 
 goal. The importance of the ability of expression cannot be 
 over-estimated. The power of technique, the flexibility and del- 
 icacy of touch, the keenness of the perceptive faculty, and rapid- 
 ity of execution are of incalculable value in the mastery of com- 
 position and design. Aside from this there is a purely psycho- 
 logical value in such a capacity, in that it opens up new worlds 
 of en.ioyment and pleasure. The reason why the universally ac- 
 cepted monuments of the past are beautiful becomes apparent, 
 and in each one there is opened a source of infinite delight and 
 interest. Who can truly appreciate the beaiity of the Venus de 
 ^lelos who has not made a charcoal drawing of her? The won- 
 derful subtlety, simplicity, and expressiveness of her partial 
 drapery, the exquisite modeling of her figure, the beauty of her 
 face, and the gentle, expressive, and graceful curves in her pose 
 all become living passions, and she becomes a source of the 
 Ifeenest enjoyment. 
 
 But it is the influence of technique upon the capacity for design 
 that should be emphasized here. A peculiar relationship seems 
 to exist between the two. They are not necessarily correlative, 
 for one can exist without the other ; but a combination of the two 
 is producive of the greatest achievement. In other words, 
 students who are proficient in technique are usually the best 
 designers. Still there are many designers who are not clever 
 draughtsmen. However, with the power to draw easily and rap- 
 
—18— 
 
 idly, there seems to come a freer flowing of ideas and an aeuter 
 appreciation of proportion in form and line. As the pencil 
 glides over the paper with freedom, vigor, and decisiveness, there 
 seems to grow out of the mass of lines new forms as if by their 
 own free will. The power of technique has, therefore, besides 
 the immediate effect of proficiency of- expression, the further 
 effect of stimulating the capacity of design. This power can 
 be acquired by several means. First and foremost is freehand 
 drawing, consisting of charcoal and pencil or ink drawing from 
 the cast and the living model. The value of the latter cannot 
 be overstressed. In the human body we find the most wonder- 
 ful contrasts, the nicest distinctions of line, form, and mass, 
 the most delicate refinements of proportion and the most beau- 
 tiful exemplification of the laws of symmetry, the keen perception 
 of which will sooner or later develop the student's refinement of 
 taste. In his charcoal drawings the student at once learns the 
 fundamental principles of study and methods of attack which 
 hold true in all his subsequent work. The very first thing he 
 must learn to grasp is the absolute importance of striking for 
 the large things, the whole, the ensemble, before consideration is 
 given to component parts and details. This is really the back- 
 bone of the whole system of study, and can be applied to all 
 the activities of life. When the primary masses have been es- 
 tablished, secondary and tertiary masses and details foUow with 
 the greatest ease. Another excellent medium is continuous prac- 
 tice in pen and pencil rendering. This will develop delicacy of 
 touch, appreciation of values both harmonized and contrasted, 
 and a true feeling for light and shade. For the appreciation 
 of the harmonies and contrasts of color, the beautiful tints and 
 shades of nature, and refinement in the use of colored materials 
 nothing is better than a continuous practice in water color paint- 
 ing. Besides giving facility in the handling of the brush, which 
 is of value in the presentation of designs, it develops a love for 
 nature, an enjoyment for her unrivaled beauties, and leads to the 
 realization of the fact that she is the supreme master in all art, 
 to whom all must sooner or later turn for instruction, guidance^ 
 and inspiration. Furthermore, practice in architectural draw- 
 mg, that is, drawing of the masterpieces of the past, the render- 
 ing of architectural forms such as the orders, the drawing of 
 ornament of different styles will develop refinement in taste an 
 
—19— 
 
 appreciation of proportion and form, and a love for fitness and 
 sincerity. Again, clay modeling is of great value in the appre- 
 ciation of the third dimension in all the forms that have been 
 presented only in the plane of the paper. A sense of mass and 
 solid form, and the play of light and shade in sculptural orna- 
 ment will be created by this means. Lastly the study of per- 
 spective will be found an excellent and really indispensable aid 
 in the study of design. Commercially it is of value, as the client 
 can usually best comprehend the presentation of a design in 
 this way. Apart from this, perspective will teach the importance 
 of a constant consideration of the third dimension in making 
 designs on paper. It will help to enlarge the mind to a proper' 
 mental visualization of an object in its completeness, from all 
 points of vision. It is a peculiar psychological fact that some 
 minds are not able to create a solid image of an object in their 
 consciousness, to see a thing inside and outside at the same time, 
 so to speak. Training along this line is therefore very important 
 through descriptive geometry and perspective. As a result, 
 when making a plan the student will in his mind see all the 
 elevations and interiors and will really work the thing as a 
 concrete solid instead of merely in the plane of the paper. This 
 is a point which is too often overlooked, and there result de- 
 signs which look exceedingly well in elevation or plan hut which 
 fail entirely when seen from an angle. 
 
 The foregoing merely suggests the ulterior beneficial effects 
 of these various mediums of technique, each naturally having its 
 value as an' end in itself. We all admire beautiful charcoals, 
 renderings, and .watercolors, fo" their own sakes aside from the 
 subjects they convey. As the sum total of all the mediate and 
 immediate effects of these means of expressiovi are of tlie most 
 far-reaching significance, no academic training in architecture 
 is complete without a thorough grounding in ihe fundamentals 
 of each one. 
 
 2. Composition and Design 
 
 Design is the main thing in academic architectural training. 
 All other studies are essentially a preparation for and comple- 
 ment to it. The teaching of design is the true raison d'etre 
 of our architectural schools. This is the one thing in which a 
 
—20— 
 
 man cannot be self-taught. All other technical studies might be 
 acquired outside of the school in practical experience, or through 
 self-teaching, but in the matter of design the school finds its 
 real function. And this function is, through the course in de- 
 sign, to develop the genius of the student to the fullest possible 
 extent. And furthermore the chief factor in this function is to 
 teach the student how to study. Study is the sine qua non of 
 design, as experimental investigation is of the positive sciences. 
 The study of design should therefore begin early and the greatest 
 amount of time should be devoted to it, for it is the purpose of 
 our schools to make designers first of all. 
 
 What then is the nature of this "composition and design" 
 which forms the central motive of our training? First it may 
 be said that there is no essential difference between architectural 
 design and design in any of the other fine arts. Design is the 
 conscious creation of a complete whole, composed of one or more 
 interdependent parts, while composition is the harmonious cor- 
 relation of these different parts to form the individualised and 
 unified whole. According to G. Baldwin Brown, "It is the first 
 essential in a work of art that it should present itself as a imity, 
 and not a mere formless mass of indefinite extension." This is 
 equally true of architectural design. The architectural designer 
 having at his disposal all the fruits of the genius of 10,000 years, 
 besides the right storehouse of nature herself, must create his 
 work out of this heritage and must if possible add to it new 
 material, a new flower of his own genius. Thus it is the creative 
 faculty, the power of assimilation and co-ordination, the gift to 
 invent new forms, that must be developed and stimulated by 
 academic training in design. In the words of Prof. Laird, ' ' The 
 central purpose in the course of instruction is the development 
 of the creative power, for the architect's function has been well 
 summarized as that of a 'designer of buildings,' and as such he 
 must have wide resources of knowledge and talent. In this, its 
 right sense, the term 'design' applies to the creating of the' build- 
 ing, not to the decorating of its parts, and means the undertaking 
 of a complete work of architecture. In other words design is 
 the assembling into beautiful, convenient, and enduring form all 
 the elements that go to make up a building. ' ' 
 
 Simultaneous with the development of the creative and in- 
 ventive faculty there must be sound and thorough training in 
 
—21— 
 
 the principles of aesthetics and theory of architecture. The stu- 
 dent must have a knowledge and conviction of the laws of the 
 good and beaiitiful which have been true from antiquity to the 
 present day ; for, however much styles and fashions may change, 
 there are underlying truths that remain eternal, being founded 
 on human nature and having their origin in the background of 
 our consciovisness. Instruction in the theory of architecture 
 should be given early, perhaps best at the same time when the 
 study of design itself is taken up. , 
 
 Granting these prerequisites, how are we to proceed to acquire 
 them? The natural beginning will be the study and apprecia- 
 tion of the best that has been done in the past. Perhaps the 
 most efScacious is the study of classical work. No people have 
 yet excelled the Greeks in the matter of achitecture from an 
 aesthetic standpoint. A careful study of the classical monu- 
 ments will, therefore, result in the development of all those qual- 
 ities that are essentials for a true artistic spirit. Care must be 
 taken that there is no slavish copying of precedent, or an ortho- 
 dox memorising of the orders, as if their proportions and di- 
 visions were immutable. This training should be in the spirit 
 of research and analysis. The idea that a thorough study of 
 Vignola will make an architect is utterly false, and as for that, 
 any doctrinaire methods of teaching styles and forms should be 
 condemned. The paramount value of studying the forms of the 
 classic ages lies in their influence upon the mind, taste, and 
 imagination. Parallel -ffi iJ-,h„ ttdS— study should go careful in- 
 struction in the element s of architecture. They are, after al LJfiw 
 Snd" simple, and a thorough understanding of their significance 
 will lay a solid ground work for the future development of the 
 student. 
 
 With such a foundation the student is prepared to build his 
 superstructure of design. What then is to be the nature of his 
 training from this point? Evidently if the training given in the 
 school is to fit the student for service in after life in the practice 
 of his profession, such training must be of a nature to develop 
 his mind to meet successfully the conditions that arise in 
 practical life. We must therefore approach in our academic 
 training as nearly^ as possible the conditions that exist in prac- 
 tice. Now it is universally and invariably true in actual practice 
 
—22— 
 
 that the architect is forced to face a problem of comproniise. The 
 cross that he has to bear is to try to get the best solution of a 
 problem in spite of the adverse conditions and limitations which 
 often make it necessary for him to throw away what would be 
 the most logical and most aesthetic solution. The academic train- 
 ing should therefore prepare the student for such experience. 
 Fortunately this precise condition can be obtained in the school 
 by the program and sketch system of teaching design. This is 
 the method employed in the Bcole des Beaux Arts, in Paris, 
 which is the chief source of inspiration in academic architec- 
 tural training. The influence of this school is being 
 felt throughout the world. Its spirit and principles are being 
 adopted in all the leading architectural schools of our country. 
 Experience has shown the efficiency of its methods. Only very 
 recently one of the largest institutions of this country was 
 forced to accept its maternal dicta. To illustrate what the 
 method of teaching design there is, I can do no better than quote 
 from an article by Mr. John G. Howard. 
 
 "The instruction in architectural design is given * * * in con- 
 nection with programs issued at regular intervals through- 
 out the year. * * * The programs are composed and issued by 
 the professor of the Theory of Architecture. They are dis- 
 tributed among the students, one to each, on a certain specified 
 day, as he goes to his private loge in the examination room. 
 Each student, in order to render his project, is required to 
 make, during the twelve hours he passes in the loges, a sketch 
 indicating with sufficient clearness the treatment in plan, sec- 
 tion and elevation, which he proposes to adopt in the solution 
 of the problem before him. The subject of the program is, of 
 course, unknown until the papers are distributed on the morn- 
 ing of the exercise, which virtually amounts to an informal ex- 
 amination. The students are therefore thrown wholly on their 
 own resources in attacking the problem. They are forced to use 
 their wits, their imagination, their reasoning powers. On their 
 success in solving, in a large way— of course not in detail— the 
 difficulties of the problems presented, the value of the follow- 
 mg two months' labor largely depends, for the principle is rig- 
 orously upheld that, primarily, the integrity of a work of art 
 must be based on the first idea, the conception. If that be 
 
—23— 
 
 wrong or poor, the finished work must inevitably be wrong or 
 poor, no matter how elaborately worked out and presented it 
 may be. Poverty of conception is never to be condoned by 
 brilliancy of exeeiition. * * * This faculty, like any other, is 
 capable of being trained only by exercise, constant and severe. 
 
 "On leaving his loge, the student deposits his sketch in the 
 hands of a guardian, retaining a copy for reference in working 
 up his design. Within a day or two he submits his sketch, at 
 the same time with his comrades, to the master, whose word of 
 approval or disapproval is awaited with keenest anxiety. Here, 
 almost immediately after the exercise of his independent pow- 
 ers, the lad is brought face to face with a superior judgment, 
 mature and disinterested, on which he has learned faithfully to 
 rely. The defects of his conception are carefully pointed out to 
 him, as well as its possibilities of development, and the general 
 direction in which it is desirable to push. Above all the parti — 
 that is, the general scheme — in and for itself, as a solution, is 
 sharply criticised. * * * 
 
 "As the weeks go on the student, in consultation with the 
 library, his more advanced comrades, and the master, makes 
 study after study, searching now here, now there, first in one 
 direction, then in another, for the improvement in his design. 
 Completed studies, sometimes in pencil, sometimes in pen and 
 ink, and again in water-color, are made first at a small scale, 
 and afterwards as the masses are found at larger size in order 
 to fix the detail. During this time the 'character' of the de- 
 sign is sought with the greatest care. No labor is too great in 
 order to arrive at the nearest possible approach to the ideal 
 characterization of each special problem, and each part of that 
 problem. * * * 
 
 "Of the two months allowed for a problem in design fully 
 six weeks, often more, are devoted to studying of the scheme, 
 with all the assistance which is at the student's disposal. Rarely 
 more than two weeks, often much less, are given up at the end 
 to rendering — ^which is to say, to drawing out carefully on 
 Whatman paper, casting shadows and washing in water-color 
 the net results of the prolonged period of study. * * * 
 
 "The final act of the drama is a lecture by the professor of 
 theory — who originally made up the program — in which he 
 
expounds the meaning of the judgment, the reasons which 
 weighed in the decision, the character of the exhibition as a 
 whole, sometimes the criticism of individual designs — in a 
 word, a general summing up and rehearsal of the entire epi- 
 sode." 
 
 Now, an exact copy of this method is practically impossible 
 in our schools, with the exception of those in our largest cities. 
 What we must do is to adapt it to our new conditions and en- 
 vironment. Instead of the atelier scheme we have the class 
 room. En loge problems, however, are within the possibility 
 of our schools. But the general instruction in design must be 
 given in the class room or alcoved drawing room. It must be 
 taught through individual instruction and criticism. The pro- 
 gram system must at all events be the central thought of 
 the course, and the method of solution by preliminary sketches 
 with a logical adherence to them in the final working up may 
 be carried on precisely as it is at the Ecole des Beaux Arts. 
 There must be developed in the class room the same esprit de 
 corps and inspiring artistic atmosphere which will enthrall and 
 conquer the student as soon as he begins study therein. This 
 spirit alone is enough to develop the latent impulses in the stu- 
 dent. 
 
 What, then, is to be the nature of this instruction in design 
 in the class room? Artists can not be made to order there, nor 
 can students be shown how to design in the usual sense of the 
 word. This again must come from within. In the words of 
 Professor Paul Cret: "It has been said that designers are born, 
 not made. The same thing has been said about almost every 
 calling in life, from poets to cooks, and it is true with this re- 
 striction, that inborn talent is but a factor of artistic superior- 
 ity. # * * The most gifted have had to work as much, and more, 
 than others to develop their talent, and in this particular ease 
 with which we are occupied, I should say that the main differ- 
 ence between the good designer and the poor one is that the one 
 has the possibilities and the willingness to study a longer time 
 than the other. It is the importance of study that we find the 
 foundation of design. * * * We see at once that superiority in 
 design IS mostly to know Jwiv to study, that is to say, to give 
 form to an idea, to make it constructible, and to improve it by 
 
—25— 
 
 tiood proportions. ' " Therefore, all that can be done in the short 
 time allotted for the Study of design in our schools is to show 
 the student how to study a problem, at the same time point- 
 ing out the things to avoid, criticising the work that has been 
 done, showing how it might be improved and what methods to 
 pursue in order to carry it to its logical end. Logic and ration- 
 ality m\ist be taught as cardinal virtues in all design. 
 
 The central idea in the method of study is here again, as in 
 eharcoal drawing, and in fact in all activities of life, the search- 
 ing for the big things first, and when these have been found to 
 give consideration to the smaller things. In other words, what- 
 evev the subject of study may be, it is to define the whole first, 
 and then its component parts. It is the main masses that the 
 student must establish first, and when he has studied these the 
 matter of subdivisions and details will follow easily. Thus in 
 designing a triumphal arch, instead of spending days in worr>- 
 ing and searching for ornament or sculptural decoration to apply 
 to its various parts, the essential thing is first to study its mass 
 as a whole, to ad.just the relation of the archway in size to the 
 piers at its side and to the mass overhead, and at the same time 
 to refine the proportions of these individually. Whether there be 
 detached columns on the piers, tablets or figures in the attic. 
 medallions or sculptural groups flanking the archway — these are 
 entirely secondary considerations, and should be the last things 
 to define if the arch is to be one of graceful, monumental, and 
 pleasing proportions, and of the arch it may be said that its 
 beauty lies in its proportions. Now, as a means to compel the 
 student to forgef details at the beginning and to make him study 
 his problem as a whole first, he must be trained to make small 
 sketches and mentally to visualize his design. In a thumb-nail 
 sketch obviously details can not appear, and only the general 
 mass can be indicated. But it is just in the defining of the gen- 
 eral mass, out of which the complex building is to grow through 
 the aid of the more or less completeh' visualized image in the 
 mind of the designer, that the greatest success in the end de- 
 pends. If possible, students should be exercised in maturing a 
 design in their mind before transferring it to paper. The e)i 
 loge scheme for solving the program results in a great measure 
 in this sort of training. But where such is not possible, the best 
 
—26— 
 
 the student can do is to read the program and then conceive 
 his scheme or parti entirely in his mind without reference to 
 library or aught else. Thus the true individuality of the student 
 will assert itself, and his mind will be developed to the point 
 where he will grasp for essentials and big things first and forget 
 the smaller things until he is ready for them. 
 
 There is another important question in connection with the 
 teaching of design. This is the question of style and archaeology. 
 We live in an age that has so far produced no characterstic style 
 in architecture. What we find about us is really an architectural 
 museum of styles and forms of past ages. Here and there we find 
 attempts to break away from traditions and precedents, 
 but no verdict has yet been passed upon their enduring and ar- 
 tistic validity. Such, perhaps, is the Art Nouveau movement, but 
 it is still too early to pass judgment upon it. 
 
 What is to be our intellectual attitude toward this condition 
 of our time? Are we to teach the re-creation of archaeological 
 types or a copying of past examples? Are we to forget that the 
 conditions of life then and now are utterly different? I believe 
 the answer will unanimously be negative. The irresponsible 
 copying of the styles of the past regardless of their adaptability 
 to present conditions indicates a lamentable pauperism, intel- 
 lectually, artistically, and even morally. The question, however, 
 is a delicate one, and just where to draw the line is difficult to 
 determine. That it is best to omit the teaching of styles in con- 
 nection with design is no doubt true. There is great danger 
 in having the students design their problems in specific historic 
 styles, having a tendency to stifle originality, individuality and 
 personality. To illustrate this point I shall quote Professor Cret 
 again: "The purpose of this teaching and its aim should be to 
 make the student work his own solution on a program selected 
 as much as possible from among those that he may be called upon 
 some day to build, or of whom he can see some solution in the 
 city where he lives. The program once given, the pupil must 
 be confirmed in the idea that he is not to be expected to make a 
 facade like such or such a monument, a plan like such or such 
 other, but he is simply to comply with the conditions of the 
 program given. It may happen, and often does happen, that the 
 solution which he finds resembles one of the historic types, and 
 
this is not surprising, for the number of types is limited. If, 
 then, the professor shows his pupils documents pertaining to 
 these buildings, points out the ingenuity spent by others in the 
 solution of a similar problem, the difference between the historic 
 type and the one called for by the program, on account of mod- 
 ern conditions and ciistoms, all this is excellent, and it is well 
 within the function of the teacher. 
 
 "But this is not 'taking an attitude toward such or such style,' 
 other than this : the teacher will have to make the pupil notice 
 that the masterpieces of the past are not adapted to our needs, if 
 they are still acceptable to our taste, educated by modem culture 
 to our appreciation, if not worship, of archaeology. He will have 
 to point out the difficulty 'of putting new wine in old skins,' for 
 this is the great dilemma of the modern architect. We are taught 
 to love and admire the forms of the past, but our needs and man- 
 ners of life call for other forms." 
 
 This, then, should be the academic attitude. The student must 
 be taught that reason and logic are the foundation stones of archi- 
 tecture, and that the great problem before him is to express his 
 own individuality and ethos, as well as reflect that of his race 
 and time in the creations of his imagination and reason, which 
 are to serve the needs of humanity in the simplest, truest and 
 soundest ways. In his work he should at all times be guided 
 by a pure conscience and high moral ideal. Of course, it must 
 be understood that a complete renunciation of the past is im- 
 possible and impracticable, for the majority of its forms are 
 the logical expression of the fundamental and eternal laws of 
 life and material facts. These forms are the vocabulary of our 
 art, our working material; just as the notes and musical forms 
 are the working materials of the musician. The student of 
 architectural design must do with these what the musician does 
 with his. No true composer has deliberately copied the work of 
 a predecessor, although he may now and then have used the 
 same themes, but developed them in his own original way. So 
 then we are to use old forms and schemes only when they log- 
 ically lend themselves to the requirements of present day con- 
 ditions. When we come to the use of historic ornament we 
 must be still more careful. It is a common frailty of the de- 
 signer to use a bit or a great deal of historic ornament on some 
 
—28— 
 
 building whose structural style is absolutely foreign to the pe- 
 riod of the ornament, and thereby hope to give character and 
 individual expression to his building. How often we see this 
 in the sky-scraper of today, the most unarchiteetural creation 
 of our age. The harmony of detail and the bare organic struct- 
 ure should be complete. It is not the outward form of a build- 
 ing always that determines its style, but often the plan alone. 
 Now where the plan is the index of the style, all the forms and 
 detail appropriate to that style may be logically used. But it 
 is certainly illogical, to say the least, to clothe a building which 
 in its structural scheme is related to one style, with detail that 
 properly belongs to an entirely different style. Thus a build- 
 ing erected in the structural form of the Basilica of Constan- 
 tine is Roman, and it would be absurd to clothe it with Gothic 
 detail and ornament. 
 
 3. History. 
 
 This part of the training of the architect has already been 
 touched upon in the reference to archaeology in connection 
 with design. The study of history is, however, a very essential 
 part of academic training. By this is meant history in its 
 broadest sense. For the architect history would divide itself 
 into two kinds: first, architectural history and archaeology, 
 and, second, social history. The first is specific and profes- 
 sional, while the latter is general. Now the aim of the studv 
 of architectural history is to "trace the origin, growth and de- 
 cline of the architectural styles and to show how they have 
 reflected the great movements of civilization, to familiarize the 
 student with the masterpieces of architecture, and to cultivate 
 a taste for and appreciation of the good in modern as well as 
 m ancient work.',' 
 
 mentff .T '"""'f"" ''"" ''""^^ "^ '^' '^^^^ ^'^P^^tant monu- 
 ZCnol iTr .'^"^^i^'^ti"^ «f their historic and social 
 c^n r T. I '""^ "^ *^^ ^^"^^^^^'^ "f constructive prin- 
 ciple.. Through an endeavor to understand all the conditions 
 
 t!:ni:t iw 1 fT '^ZTZ'"'"' ^^^^^'™ ■'-' -'- 
 
 n lire. ±ie will find many sources of inspira- 
 
—29— 
 
 tion and stimulation to his imagination. Architectural his- 
 tory may be divided again into two kinds. On the one hand 
 there is the history of ornament, decoration and detail, and 
 on the other hand we have the history of construction and 
 structural forms. Of course, besides these, there is the study of 
 historic examples. A complete and thorough knowledge of each 
 of these can not be expected in a school course. The essential 
 thing for the student is to have catalogued in his mind the 
 various types and styles of ornament and construction, 
 as well as the historic examples, of each, so that he 
 may know where to find them if he should have use 
 for them in his work. In other words, he should be- 
 come very familiar with all the literature upon architectural 
 subjects. If then he meets a problem of a certain type where 
 more or less analogous to those of some historic example he 
 will at once know where to find this example and can study 
 it to profit by this past experience. This is one of the reasons 
 why much time should be spent in the architectural library, the 
 student becoming thoroughly familiar with the great works 
 upon the monuments of the past. 
 
 The other branch of history would concern itself with po- 
 litical, social and intellectual evolution of mankind. It would 
 also include the arts of sculpture and painting. This study' will 
 give the student broad cultural and aesthetic training which 
 cannot be overestimated. To understand the art of any peo- 
 ple a general knowledge of the evolution of their civilization 
 is necessary. It will be noticed that the ages of the highest 
 architectural achievement have also been the ages of the high- 
 est civilization'. And this is but natural, for, as "art is man's 
 comment upon life," when that life reached its culmination, 
 art must have reached its highest expression. This field is 
 broad and includes a history of philosophy, religion, govern- 
 ment, and social life. There should therefore be introduced 
 into the curriculum of academic training a course in which 
 these subjects are surveyed in a brief but consistent manner. 
 
 However, with this alone the cultural education of the ar- 
 chitect wotdd not be complete. Of no less importance is the 
 study of those sciences most closely related to architecture. 
 Such should be chemistry, physics, sanitary science, public 
 health, and acoustics. Of course it is hardly necessary to add 
 
—30— 
 
 those general academic studies which form a part of the gen- 
 eral education of every man. I mean English, mathematics, 
 political institutions, and languages, except that, in the latter 
 case, stress should be laid on the study of languages in which 
 the greatest amount of architectural literature is written. 
 French is perhaps the most important, for it is to France that 
 we most generally turn for information in the lore of archi- 
 tecture. German would follow, as much valuable original lit- 
 erature is written in this langTiage. 
 
 4. Construction and Practice 
 
 As it was stated that solidity and soundness were among the 
 fundamental principles of architecture, it is clear that some 
 knowledge of the principles of structural engineering is imper- 
 ative. However, as there is a specialization in this subject to- 
 day on account of the complexity and magnitude of the prob- 
 lems involved, the knowledge of the architect need only be gen- 
 eral and elementary. His specialized knowledge should exceed 
 that of the ancient architect, because the universal use of new 
 material has widened the scope of his work far beyond mere 
 masonry structures. There are, further, two pertinent reasons 
 why the architect should have a general and elementary knowl- 
 edge of the principles of engineering and materials. First, be- 
 cause such knowledge will show him new possibilities for the 
 disposition of his ideas. Through a knowledge of the nature of 
 his materials he will be able to create new forms and acquire 
 greater freedom in the distribution of his structural skeleton. 
 With the development of new materials things are possible of 
 which previous ages never dared to dream. Secondly, the knowl- 
 edge of the fundamental principles of the strength of materials, 
 and statics of building construction will enable him to solve 
 many problems daily arising in the practice of his profession, 
 and all this is of economic value to him. He will be able to 
 solve smaller engineering problems without having to call in 
 tihe aid of the expert engineer. He should not be allowed to 
 rely on the many handbooks and other sources of information, 
 without having some knowledge of the principles upon which 
 they are based. Nor should this general education be confined 
 merely to the principles of building construction. Owing to- 
 
—31— 
 
 the complexity of modern life many other questions arise which 
 he should be able to answer. Even though he should not be able 
 to pass final judgment upon them, he should have sufficient 
 knowledije of their requirements and particular nature as to co- 
 operate intelligently and sympathetically with those experts 
 whom he finds necessary to call to his aid. There should thus 
 be a general knowledge of the principles of heating and venti- 
 lation, of sanitary engineering and plumbing, of electric light- 
 ing, etc. These things are common to all buildings and there- 
 fore will be a constant part of the architect's practice. Of 
 course knowledge of special installations and equipment cannot 
 be expected to be acquired in an academic course. This must 
 be obtained in actual practice. Whatever the conditions and 
 nature of the problem, there should be an intelligent under- 
 standing and mutual sympathy between the architect and the 
 specialists and experts which are to assist him. 
 
 Under the term practice are considered actual working meth- 
 ods as current in the architect's office. This is no small field 
 in itself. It should include a knowledge of working or con- 
 tract drawings, specifications, business relations, business law, 
 and professional ethics. But instruction in these can only be 
 very general and elementary, for in the actual world of prac- 
 tice the variety of methods is extreme. Bach office will have 
 its own system of practice, and therefore the beginner can 
 at best start his office career only as a student. It is therefore 
 advisable for the student to go into an office as soon as possible 
 after he has commenced his studies of architecture. This he 
 can do in the summer vacation. Such practice will have the 
 further value of giving him a better insight into the signifi- 
 cance of his school work, and enable him upon graduation to 
 assume a higher position. His point of view will have broad- 
 ened, and he will know better what to search for in the solu- 
 tion of his problems. 
 
 In general it might be said that this part of the training 
 in our schools is too much neglected. We wish to make practical 
 men as well as artists. Above all, we should save students from 
 designing unbuildable buildings. 
 
 There are still several points that deserve consideration. One 
 is the matter of academic environment. Scientific schools have 
 their laboratories vast and complex, equipped with all the 
 
—32— 
 
 instruments and paraphernalia of science necessary in the prose- 
 cution of the work of experiment and research and for arousing 
 the interest of the student in his work. Naturally the better 
 and more comprehensive the equipment the greater is the work 
 accomplished. Now, the architect needs all this material equip- 
 ment just as imperatively as the scientist, but he needs some 
 thing more, he needs a spirit, an atmosphere which will work 
 on his spiritual and emotional nature. It is this atmosphere and 
 tradition which, when once created, will become the life and mo- 
 tive principle in the perpetuation of the school. This is a 
 very illusive thing and depends on many factors, chief among 
 which are the personality of the teachers, the methods of man- 
 agement of the school, the style of arrangement and equip- 
 ment of the school, and the spirit of its ideals. On entering the 
 apartments the student should instinctively feel that he is 
 walking in an atmosphere of art; upon its walls he should find 
 constant sources of inspiration ; in the library he should be able 
 to lose himself in the glories of the past ; and in the museum he 
 should find constant pleasure and stimulation. Life there 
 should be made a passion and the work an envious pleasure and 
 pride. 
 
 After an, the art life is only begun when the pleasures and 
 vicissitudes of academic training are over. The years spent at 
 school are really only an introduction into this new life, this 
 other world. And when the last problem is handed in the stu- 
 dent begins to realize that he is a mere infant and has only be- 
 gun to crawl out of chaos toward the light. When his train- 
 ing is finished and he looks back he first begins to see what it 
 was aU about and that he is in the position of one who has 
 just passed his entrance requirements. In the world of art 
 study never ends, our, work is really never finished, the last 
 word is never spoken. I therefore believe that tHe time devoted 
 to the training of architects in our schools is far too short As a 
 matter of fact, the setting of a time limit of four or five^ears 
 for the completion of a prescribed course which is intended to 
 produce an artist as certified by a diploma, is to say the least, 
 extremely lUogical. No account is taken of the personality of 
 the student. The very fact that genius and talent are devel- 
 oped to varying extents in different students would seem to in- 
 dicate that an equal measure of time is not only illogical but 
 
—33— 
 
 unjust. It is therefore gratifying to see that one of our great- 
 est schools has bravely east off this inconsistency, and issues 
 a diploma only when the student has finished a prescribed 
 amount of work of a certain standard, no matter whether it 
 took the student four years or ten years to accomplish it. This 
 preserves the integrity of the diploma and insures a far more 
 uniform quality of professional men. At any rate, where this 
 is found inadvisable at present, it would seem that there ought 
 to be more time given to this training. Instead of four years, 
 six would be far better. Owing to the extreme broadness and com- 
 plexity of this profession, the purely professional studies should 
 *he preceded by two years of general academic and cultural ed- 
 ucation. This might include entrance requirements, but whether 
 or not, the student should be prepared for his professional 
 work (which should be concentrated at the end of his course) by 
 a sound cultural education. Prof. Charles Waldstein speaking 
 of general education for artists says, "What this training is 
 to give him is a general education ; it is to make him a truly re- 
 fined and educated man, who stands on the height of civiliza- 
 tion of his age, and is representative of this in his way, as the 
 man of letters and science, the statesman and legislator, are in 
 theirs. I wish to impress the necessity — especially for artists — 
 of an adequate general education, preparatory to his serious pro- 
 fessional work." When all our institutions have awakened to 
 -their full responsibility in architectural education, we may hope 
 for the day when architecture will resume its integrity as an 
 art as it was left by the Gothic builders. Let us hope that it 
 wiU be "bom again," clothed in new raiment and fraught with 
 a new life and a new spirit. Let our age erect unto itself a 
 monument even more imperishable than the great Pyramid of 
 •Cheops. 
 
THE UNIVERSITY OF TEXAS BULLETIN. 
 
 {Continued from inside front cover ) 
 
 Humanistic Sebieb 
 
 2. The Evolution, of "Causa" in the Contractual Omigations of the Civil 
 Law, by Samuel Peterson. 24 p. January, 1905. 25 cents. 
 
 8. De Witt's Colony, by Ethel Z. Rather. 99 p., 4 maps. 1905. 35 cents. 
 
 6. The Orotesque in the Poetry of Roiert Browning, by Lily B. Campbell. 
 41 p. April, 1907. 25 cents. 
 
 6. The Beginnings of Texas, by R. C. Clark. 94 p., map. December, 1907. 
 
 75 cents. 
 
 7. Railroad Transportation in Texas, by C. S. Potts. 214 p., 6 maps, charts. 
 
 March, 1909. J1.50. 
 
 Medical Sebies 
 
 1. Yellow Fever; a Popular Lecture, by James Carroll. 32 p. June, 1905. 
 
 15 cents. 
 
 2. The Care of the Insane, by Dr. M. L. Graves. 16 p. 1905. 15 cents. 
 
 3. The 1903 EpidewHo of Yellow Fever in Texas and the. Lessons to Be 
 
 Learned from it, by Dr. G. R. Tabor. 22 p. June, 1905. 15 cents. 
 
 SoiENTiPic Sebies 
 
 6. Test of a Vertical Triple Expansion High-Duty Pumping Engine in Oper- 
 ation at the Water Works, Ban Antonio, Texas, by A. C. Scott. 52 p. 
 illus. pi. June, 1905. 35 cents. 
 
 6. Vegetation of the Sotol Country in Texas, by W. L. Bray. 24 p., pi. June, 
 
 1905. 25 cents. 
 
 7. Observations on the Halits of Some Solitary Wasps of Texas, by Carl 
 
 Hartman. 72 p., pi. July, 1905. 25 cents. 
 
 8. The Protection of Our Native Birds, by T. H; Montgomery, Jr. 30 p. Octo- 
 
 ber, 1906. 25 cents. 
 
 9. The Austin Electric Railway System, by members of the Senior Class In 
 
 Electrical Engineering, 1906. 123 p., illus. pi. 1906. 50 cents. 
 
 10. Distribution and Adaptation of the Vegetation of Texas, by W. L. Bray, 
 
 108 p., pi. map. November, 1906. 35 cents. 
 
 11. A Sketch of the Oeology of the Chisos Country, by J. A. Udden. 101 p. 
 
 April, 1907. 50 cents. 
 
 12. The Clays of Texas, by Heinrich Ries, 316 p., illus. pi. 1908. $2.00. 
 
 13. The American Mistletoe, by H. H. York. 31 p., pi. 1909. 50 cents. 
 
 14. Symptoms of Disease in Plants, by F. D. Heald. Illus. November, 1909. 
 
 $1.00. 
 
 15. Field Studies of the Behavior of the Lizard Sceloporus Floridanus, by H. 
 
 H. Newman and J. Thomas Patterson. 23 p., illus. December, 1909. 
 25 cents. 
 
 To those who desire It a complete list of the publications of the Univer- 
 Bity of Texas will be furnished. Requests for this or for Bulletins should be 
 addressed to the University of Texas Bulletin, Austin, Texas. Exchanges 
 should be addressed to the University of Texas Library. 
 
THE DEPARTMENT OF EXTENSION 
 
 The attention of students and teachers is called to the Department 
 of Extension created in 1909 by the Board of Regents. The object Of 
 this Department is to extend, as far as possible, the advantages of the 
 University to persons who desire to avail themselves of its services 
 while living away from the University. Owing to lack of fnnds,' 
 the Board was able to provide for only a modest beginning; never- 
 theless, it is hoped that many who are unable to take up work in resi- 
 dence will avail themselves of the opportunity now presented to 
 profit by University instruction while remaining at home. 
 
 The work of the Department of Extension is being conductei; inj 
 three divisions. 
 
 I. Correspondence Division. 
 II. Public Discussion and Information Division. 
 III. Lecture Division. 
 
 In the Correspondence Division, many University courses are of- 
 fered by mail, and it is now possible for the student to do half of tkitl 
 work required for the B. A. degree and a third of the work require!! 
 for the degree of Bachelor of Laws, while living at home. 
 
 The Public Discussion and Information Division has ready for 
 free, distribution, bibliographies dealing with Prohibition, Peniten- 
 tiary Reform, Municipal Ownership of Public Utilities, City Govern- 
 ment by Commission, and Compulsory Education. Small traveling 
 libraries on Prohibition and Penitentiary Reform wiU be loaned |6 
 citizens of Texas free of cost other than transportation charges bo& 
 ways. 
 
 In the Lecture Division provision has been made to allow memb^ 
 of the staff of instruction of the University to deliver lectures m .Texas 
 towns when asked to do so. 
 
 A special Bulletin of the Department is issued. 
 
 For this Bulletin and for further details concerning the work of 
 these three Divisions, write to the Director of the Department of Ex- 
 tension, Austin, Texas. 
 
NA2000.K96'"'""'™""^'-"'"'^ 
 mmnmSZ'S "''""'"9 '" architecture 
 
 3 1924 015 399 185