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Article OUR ARCHITECTURAL CHAPTER. Page 1 of 4 →
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Our Architectural Chapter.
OUR ARCHITECTURAL CHA . PTEB .
With the benefit of the limited liability act , and the movement now going on , there can be little doubt our architectural friends will have many opportunities of building Masonic halls in the provincial towns . Then comes the great architectural question— " Classic or gothic ?"—as to the exterior and the interior . We , who have no prejudices as to style , are content to take either , as circumstances may dictate . First the situation of the building is to be borne in mind . If a mediaeval church is alongside , it is absurd to run up a Doric , Ionic ,
or Italian facade . Let it be early English , or pointed , or whatever will best harmonize , so as to give character and dignity to the whole group of buildings . If however the adjoining buildings are a Doric town-hall , and a rich Italian bank , then the style of the Masonic hall should in some degree correspond . If both buildings are of allied styles , there is no difi ^ culty j but otherwise the new hall should be made to conform either to the more considerable building , or that wdiose lines will best agree with the internal arrangements of the new building . If the iieighbours are one highly decorated and the other less decorated , and the funds are limited ,, then the new building may be designed
in the plainer style . If a building of a distinct architectural expression exists alongside , it is most desirable that the style and main horizontal lines of the new hall should be made to agree . For instance , the ground-floor windows , doors and lintels should be made to correspond , though the dressings need not be alike in their ornamentation . If , too , the first floor can take the character of its neighbour , so much the better . There are few mistakes which detract so much from the effect of a new structure , and of course from the old one , than , without rhyme
or reason , running the floors and windows some four or six inches above or below those of an existing building . Thus , instead of the new building grouping with the old as a member of a large and noble group , two dissonant structures are set alongside , each of which serves to detract from the other . In fact an opportunity for good is lost , and an irreparable work of mischief is carried out . It is not to be assumed that the architect or Grand Superintendent of Works of the Masonic hall is servilely to copy the elevation of an existing building of inferior merit , but having made his general design to
harmonizenot in the nature of a wing , unless there should be a positive opening as it were for such , an arrangement , but as a member of the group—he will preserve an independent treatment ; for this especial reason , that his subject requires an independent treatment ; because a bank will demand one set of attributes , and one mode of arrangement , a townhall another , and a Masonic hall will demand what is expressive of its dedication . Still even if a square and compasses are introduced on . a cornice , they must be so employed as not to jar with some mock classic
Note: This text has been automatically extracted via Optical Character Recognition (OCR) software.
Our Architectural Chapter.
OUR ARCHITECTURAL CHA . PTEB .
With the benefit of the limited liability act , and the movement now going on , there can be little doubt our architectural friends will have many opportunities of building Masonic halls in the provincial towns . Then comes the great architectural question— " Classic or gothic ?"—as to the exterior and the interior . We , who have no prejudices as to style , are content to take either , as circumstances may dictate . First the situation of the building is to be borne in mind . If a mediaeval church is alongside , it is absurd to run up a Doric , Ionic ,
or Italian facade . Let it be early English , or pointed , or whatever will best harmonize , so as to give character and dignity to the whole group of buildings . If however the adjoining buildings are a Doric town-hall , and a rich Italian bank , then the style of the Masonic hall should in some degree correspond . If both buildings are of allied styles , there is no difi ^ culty j but otherwise the new hall should be made to conform either to the more considerable building , or that wdiose lines will best agree with the internal arrangements of the new building . If the iieighbours are one highly decorated and the other less decorated , and the funds are limited ,, then the new building may be designed
in the plainer style . If a building of a distinct architectural expression exists alongside , it is most desirable that the style and main horizontal lines of the new hall should be made to agree . For instance , the ground-floor windows , doors and lintels should be made to correspond , though the dressings need not be alike in their ornamentation . If , too , the first floor can take the character of its neighbour , so much the better . There are few mistakes which detract so much from the effect of a new structure , and of course from the old one , than , without rhyme
or reason , running the floors and windows some four or six inches above or below those of an existing building . Thus , instead of the new building grouping with the old as a member of a large and noble group , two dissonant structures are set alongside , each of which serves to detract from the other . In fact an opportunity for good is lost , and an irreparable work of mischief is carried out . It is not to be assumed that the architect or Grand Superintendent of Works of the Masonic hall is servilely to copy the elevation of an existing building of inferior merit , but having made his general design to
harmonizenot in the nature of a wing , unless there should be a positive opening as it were for such , an arrangement , but as a member of the group—he will preserve an independent treatment ; for this especial reason , that his subject requires an independent treatment ; because a bank will demand one set of attributes , and one mode of arrangement , a townhall another , and a Masonic hall will demand what is expressive of its dedication . Still even if a square and compasses are introduced on . a cornice , they must be so employed as not to jar with some mock classic