Industrial Architecture

INDUSTRIAL ARCHITECTURE Under this classification are included all buildings in which manufacture, purchase, sale, exchange and transport of commodi ties are carried on, and in which the financing of business enter prises is negotiated. Industrial architecture has now peculiar sig nificance, because the present period of civilization is normally neither an age of war nor an age of art, but a scientific and indus trial age. It constitutes by far the most important architectural development since 1900, not alone as measured in terms of quan tity, but in terms of actual progress as well. Industry and com merce, through combination and absorption, have grown far be yond the wildest imaginings of the '8os of the last century, and their necessities have developed a striking and significantly new architecture, highly expressive of the present age. The trend is toward larger and larger units—larger office buildings, larger de partment stores, larger banks, larger railway stations, larger indus trial plants.

The increase in the height and mass of office buildings is per haps the most phenomenal feature of this development. Many misapprehensions exist as to its cause. One of the most persistent is that in New York, where the so-called sky-scraper has received its chief development, the long, narrow shape of the island forced growth upward. This is far from the truth. There is still plenty of room for lateral expansion on Manhattan island. The tall build ings form a narrow ridge through the centre, following the general course of Broadway. Should all the buildings on the island proper be reduced to an average height, they would probably not exceed six or seven storeys. This contention is proved by the rapid appearance of groups of tall buildings in many other cities where the special topographical conditions of New York do not exist.

The truth is that increased concentration makes for increased efficiency in commercial operations. It is probable that the tall building originated in the desire of real estate owners to exploit small and heavily taxed property holdings. Increased rev enue could be obtained from a small area of land by building up ward. But the sky-scraper has proved invaluable to efficiency in business, for, in the final analysis, all important business affairs are negotiated through personal contact, in spite of telephone, telegraph and other means of communication.

The City Factory.

The factory in cities is beginning to take on city dress. The open labour market commonly causes a large industrial plant, especially in such work as garment-making, to build in the heart of a city. Such a plant should not be a blot among fine buildings, but should be in harmony with its surround ings. The plan problem is as varied as the nature of the work carried on, but industrial plants may be divided into three types, depending on the different kinds of enclosed spaces : ( I) plants of large area, of only one floor ; (2) plants of large spaces for great machines, travelling cranes, etc., in conjunction with smaller spaces of the ordinary type ; (3) plants of ordinary spaces, many storeyed and dependent on light from the sides. The first type furnishes simply a problem of building over large areas and with "saw tooth" skylight construction ; the second involves engineering for broad spaces, but both clerestory and top lighting are possible ; the third type does not differ from the many-storeyed office build ing in which a conventional upper floor plan is developed as a series of typical office units along both sides of a corridor. The line of vertical circulation (lifts or elevators) is fixed at a central point on this corridor, utility spaces are added, and the ground floor is devoted to special purposes.

Importance of the Architect.

Only in the loth century have such problems as steel plants, mining hoists, automobile works, etc., been considered in any sense architectural. Generally handled by engineers with practical considerations only in view, the architect had no essential part, but was called in, if at all, to add a bit of "dressing" to a predetermined structure. To-day, however, the large corporations are realizing more and more that beauty in its broadest sense is a commercial asset, and that thoughtful planning with consideration for the human occupants of buildings has utility.

The architect, by training and experience, has a more compre hensive sense of arrangement than the engineer or the contractor. A certain distinctive appearance, a certain completeness of design, a more perfect interior arrangement and a general suitability seem more likely to prevail when the largest industrial buildings are handled through an architect's office than when an architect is not in the picture. The architect is consulted to advantage from the outset of the problem; choice of site, plan arrangement, types of construction, fire prevention, natural lighting, welfare pro visions, plumbing, heating, ventilation and artificial illumination are all matters of consideration in the design of any building. (See also INDUSTRIAL ARCHITECTURE.)