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Show Rational Architecture. The very art element of architecture has been the cause of its degradation. From the most useful of arts it has become be-come mostly ornamental. From meaning mean-ing and expressing the utility of an edifice edi-fice it has come to refer to its appearance appear-ance only. People have forgotten that it arose from the necessity of man for shelter, and view it as a product of the study or of the studio in which beauty and aesthetic effects are the only ends sought, while utility, convenience, expression of intention,,have all become secondary considerations. Nothing could be more erroneous, nothing more fatal to the production of sound architecture. Architecture is not the product of the imagination, but the result of experience and foresight. The painter in his studio, or the sculptor in his, has nothing to dictate dic-tate to his thoughts or force them into certain channels. His fancy is free, and he allows it to carry him where it will. The architect, on the other hand, is limited lim-ited by innumerable requirements and difficulties, all of which are real and physical, and all of which must be overcome over-come before his work can bo a success. His creations are not intended for the decoration of a gallery or to be preserved under glass, but they must stand the test of time and of climate, must bear a relation to the manners and customs of the day. Barr Ferree in Popular Science Monthly. |