Category:Ideal Home Exhibition

THE IDEAL HOME EXHIBITION. AN IMPRESSION.

It is a little difficult, after a very hurried visit to Olympia, to write an adequate appreciation or criticism.

Generally speaking, what strikes one on a first survey is that this Exhibition is quite as interesting as any previous Ideal Home Exhibition, and is very much better organised — in fact, one might, without fear of exaggeration, describe it as a "triumph of organisation." ‘There is none of that sense of confusion and not being able to find one’s way about which characterised some of the earlier exhibitions.

Possibly the most interesting exhibit from the architect’s point of view is Sir Edwin Lutyen's beautiful little pavilion which encloses the Queen’s Doll’s House.

I do not know whether the peculiar smell experienced inside is due to the preservative used on the wood for the stands, etc., or whether it is some strong disinfectant against the prevalent 'flu, but if it is as effective as it is nasty it ought to be very good.

One of the most delightful sections is that containing the gardens. Many of these are extremely well designed and have interesting adjuncts in the way of old wrought iron gates, etc.

The technical exhibit which will possibly cause most interest and comment amongst architects is the pair of Braithwaite's steel houses. These are extremely well planned and extraordinarily interesting from a constructional point of view. Messrs. Braithwaite have approached the problem as would a shipbuilder rather, by making a steel frame and then clothing it. The general principle seems to be strong steel plates bolted together to form a rigid carcase, these forming walls and roof. Inside the walls are finished with asbestos sheeting and some form of patent boarding for the ceilings. The outside is painted a pleasant putty colour—but I very much doubt as to what extent these houses are rust resisting—and it would be extremely interesting to learn how the paint can be maintained for so small a sum as £1 per house per annum, which is a contention that Messrs. Braithwaite make. From the design point of view, the only feature that I do not myself consider to be entirely satisfactory is the treatment of the roof. This has been designed and painted to look as much like a red tiled root as possible, with the result, of course, that it looks like a bad imitation. If the designers had been as consistent with the treatment of the roof as they were with the walls, and followed, say, on something of the lines of the roof to a tube railway carriage, the result would possibly have been more convincing. Some of the designs for the individual stands are particularly good, depending as they do on simple shapes and strong colour effects.

S.C.R.

— , S.C.R., , JOURNAL OF THE ROYAL INSTITUTE OF BRITISH ARCHITECTS, , 7th March 1925