AN EXPERIMENTAL HOUSE
By JOHN MADGE
THERE is one direction in which the present century can claim an undoubted advance, and that is in the application of science to the utilisation of new, technical materials and methods of construction. The relevance of this to architecture is obvious. Each in their own way— Greek temples, Roman thermae, and French Gothic cathe- drals—became as large as their materials and method of construction would allow. Today we suffer from no such restriction. Not only are the uses of the current materials, steel and concrete and glass, capable of a very great extension before they reach the limit of their powers, but also the con- tinuous advances in scientific knowledge of internal molecular structure are demonstrating the still incredible possibilities which will arise with a full control of our available resources.
The necessity for the encouragement and full exploitation of technical advance is certain, and the purpose here is to discuss a problem of very great immediate and practical relevance. For, in spite of the prophetic vision which is by now the commonplace heritage of any scientist, in practice the gulf between the potential and the actual tech- nical level of construction has never been wider. It is not hard to discover one important reason for this. The first use of any new material is bound to involve a risk, and it is therefore difficult for the architect to persuade any client to allow him to experiment with its practical application. At best a new material or technique is bound to begin its life in a condition so primitive that it will be little or no better than its predecessor, which has gradually evolved into its most advanced form. At worst it will develop some un- suspected flaw and will involve expensive repairs or replacement.
There is no simple way of overcoming this difficulty. The work of such organisations as the Building Research Station or the National Physical Laboratory is valuable, but necessarily limited in its scope. Someone, whether from motives of self-interest or of philanthropy, must be persuaded to take the first risk in a full-scale experiment. Someone must be prepared to lose ; but, fortunately for progress, there are also people who stand to gain by the successful application of a new process, and those are its manufacturers or sponsors. A case in point has recently occurred with the opening, just behind King's Cross Station, of a small block of four flats. The construction of these, essentially for experimental purposes, was sponsored by the Sheet Steel Market Development Committee. The opportunity was used to test out a number of new ideas in sound and heat insulation. But the main novelty was the very general use of pressed steel for such different purposes as baths, metal lathing and drainpipes. In several cases the different new materials were used in collaboration for the first time, and necessary modifications were realised and incorporated. The result is a truly experimental house, which is designed at the same time actually to be lived in, and as such it is a real advance.
The disadvantages must not, however, be overlooked. The materials demonstrated in such a building are essentially competitive. Such a system includes no umpire who could distinguish suitable uses from unsuitable ones. For example, the Gas Light and Coke Company, who provided the site and whose employees will live in the block, have been entrusted both with the heating and with the lighting. Almost all authorities agree that water heating and cooking is most efficiently and economically provided by gas, but few would support the use of gas lighting as an alternative to electricity. Moreover, this method of joint experiment and advertisement effectually excludes those new synthetic materials which at present lack an influential sponsor. All experiment under living conditions is desirable, •but the position cannot be really satisfactory until such tests are conducted by a powerful and liberally endowed public organisation, whose purpose is to discover the most suitable contemporary combination of materials and not to 'advertise the products of any one industry at the expense of its competitors.
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