The Modern Home
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Windows
ONE would, like to think that the years immediately ahead of us will be known some day as the beginning of the Age of 'Light. There is no reason why this should not be so—unless we are to accept the inertia and conservatism of mankind as reasons. The gospel preached by Hippocrates nearly twenty- four centuries ago—vis medieatrix naturae—is coming into its own again. It is true that we no longer see Nature in the form of a plump and kindly Nanny, as our grandparents were fond of picturing her (while yet being careful to give her as wide a berth as possible). " She " has become " it," afid is now regarded as a code of laws, savage, inexorable and imperfectly understood. llama sapiens is an animal designed to live in daylight ; if he is so perverse as to surround himself with layers of bricks and mortar and live his life in a perpetual twilight he must pay the cost : rickets, tuberculosis and a score of foul diseases come to cripple him and to kill him ' off in favour of some more sensible creature.
Were I in the happy position of being about to build a house for myself, nothing would incline me towards a modern design more than the possibilities of ampler light which it would offer. We may assume that domestic architecture started an independent existence in the form of certain walls and a roof designed to keep out the weather and keep in the warmth. Later, it was found advisable to leave a hole to draw off some of the smoke from the fire: Later still other holes serving as windows were found to add to the amenities. There is evidence of the naive astonishment felt in the Middle Ages when it was discovered that the Romans had been cun- ning enough to build " hollow tubes in their walls " to draw off the smoke of their fires. We, to-day, should refuse to live in a house whose rooms were always filled with smoke, yet we toler- ate without comment houses most of whose rooms are perman- ently filled with gloom—this although we know more definitely than ever before that light is life.
We have not yet realized in this country that domestic architecture is about to undergo the greatest transformation in its history—and all the uncomprehending criticism by architects who have made their names in the older school (and done fine work, many of them) will not stop it. In essentials the materials of building have hardly altered since the Israelites found some difficulty in making bricks for Pharaoh—until the last hundred years or so. Bricks and stone, mortar and timber—where was any advantage in the cheapening of glass when its full and proper use was restricted by the limitations of the other building materials ? So long as houses are built in the old way the necessity for strength in the walls conflicts with our desire, our need for more light through them. When a modem form-concrete construction, or the more expensive steel frame is used, the outside walls need support no weight and could be made almost entirely of glass, were such a course. desirable. The limiting factor (apart from questions of privacy and shade) is that of heating. The heat-loss through a window is some- thing like three times as great as through a brick or stone wall. Against this can be set the greater efficiency of modern heating equipment—particularly that producing radiant heat, which makes us largely independent of the temperature of the air around us, so that we ran be comfortably warm in a healthily cool atmosphere. On the whole, we can say that there is no practical objection to our having all the window- space we can reasonably want in our houses. And what a lot we do, or should want I Only those who have lived in such houses know the sense of well-being and what I can only des- cribe as mental spaciousness, freedom from oppression, that is given by really generous windows. Social workers tell of the regeneration achieved by housing slum-dwellers in better sur- roundings ; it is my belief that something of the sort would be done for all of us, were we to be given more light in our homes : a lessened inertia, perhaps, or a little less muddled thinking— this in addition to the obvious improvement in bodily health.
A geed deal of antagonism to modern. architecture was
aroused by the shape in which it first exploited the extra window-space. For a time there was a plethora of long, relatively low, horizontal strips or " ribbon-windows." No doubt in many eases there are aesthetic objections to saeh a form, though we should remember that the eye requires considerable time to accustom itself to anything novel, par- ticularly when this runs counter to all one's previous ideas of structure, However, ribbon-windows are in no way inherent in modem architecture ; they were simply a phase ; and the phase has passed: The high window, reaching to the ceiling, is a form preferable from the interior, since its even illumination of the ceiling gives a delightful freedom from oppression. From the outside, too, it is probably better in most cases. Cross-bars or dividing pieces, in which some see a relic of superstition; as serving to keep out evil spirits, have little structural purpose ; but they have their uses in case of break- age since they reduce the size of the replacement required. Their value to the elevation must vary in different houses- rtrtainly there is little to be -said for the small, mock-ancient, lead-lights (with here and there a pane of bottle-glass). They are bad to clean, stop an unforgivable amount of light and look thoroughly affected in a modem house.
One sometimes meets the insane assertion that wooden sash'-windows are "the best- for this 'climate." - Why thid should be so it is impossible to imagine—unless it be that when they swell with damp, and jam, they can be taken out and planed down—and when they rattle in the following summer a piece can be 'glued on again. If the sash-cord breaks, various wooden beads -have to be prised off to the utter destruction of both internal and external paintwork, and they are unpleasantly difficult to clean. They are no more weatherproof Alma properly fitted metal-windows ; they admit less air when full open and less light at all times—and they are more expensive. Practically all metal-windows can be obtained with " easy-cleaning " hinges, allowing both sides of the glass to be cleaned with comfort and safety from inside. Pairs of windows can be hinged on opposite sides, so that one or other can be opened to suit the direction of the wind. The upkeep of metal-frames should be no higher than that of wood, because, although they should be repainted more often (every other year), the actual surface to be painted is very' much smaller. In accepting estimates for repainting, care should be taken to stipulate that good quality paint, containing neither zinc Sulphide (lithdpone) nor carbon black—both of which actually set up corrosion—be used. The fitting of metal- windows requires care, though all reputable makers issue ample instructions. Occasionally a local builder will imagine that the frames, being metal, must be strong enough to take some weight—whereas they are designed to do nothing of the sort ; and so the maker is blamed for what is none of his fault.
A great deal of publicity has been given to window-glass possessing the property of transmitting the ultra-violet rays in sunlight, which are now known to have considerable therapeutic value. The Department of Scientific and Indus- trial Research has published a report on the efficacy of glais of this kind, which shows that it can -be of real value in any room where the occupant can be exposed to direct sun- light and to a large portion of the sky (which latter contributes much of the radiation). In a room facing North or in shadow the transmission is negligible unless one sits right against the window. Remembering that most articles of clothing except those made of artificial silk will in any case prevent the radiation reaching -the- body, I think we may assume that these glasses are of doubtful value in any room except a sun- lounge or poSsibly a nursery with large windows facing South. An open window is undoubtedly better, and I should like to draw attention to those folding and sliding- windows by means of which any width of opening-cart be left free of uprights or other obstructions ; the leaves of window fold neatly away, without effort, at either side.
G. M. Boum:mutat.
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