DESIGN FOR BUILDING A TRIPLICATE

The month of January at Harvard is noted for its reading period leisure, its examination period frenzy, and the publication of the annual reports of the various officers and departments of the University. It is the contents of the latter category, the annual reports, which are causing comment these days, although there may be some persons a bit concerned about bluebooks, as yet. During the past week, however, both President Conant and Dean Hudunt, of the Graduate School of Design, saw fit to recapitulate their activities of the past year. They both had a lot to say on several subjects, but it is most interesting to note that on one point their thought is closely parallel.

President Conant mentioned building. He expressed for graduates in Cambridge, which would correspond to the upperclass Houses, might prove a great step forward in giving to graduate students the same compactness which is at present an outstanding asset of the College. He evidently envisions some such buildings in the future, maybe soon, maybe not. Anyhow, soon or late, he admits that something must be done to relieve the unsatisfactory housing conditions of the graduate schools.

Dean Hudnut also dealt with buildings and architecture. He had an idea to recommend, and be mentioned little else. The Dean wants to improve the quality of building now being done, and be realizes that this can only be done by improving the ability of those who do the building as is the workman, so is his product. The journalistic counterpart of this idea provides a similar basis for the Nieman Fellowships. Thus Dean Hudnut plans to require the students of his School to take an outside apprenticeship of at least six months before graduation, the object being more practical experience with actual tools of the trade. In short, he wants Harvard architects to build better buildings, while President Conant is frankly anxious for newer buildings by better builders might be construed as their combined aim.

There is also a Harvard graduate down in Washington who is known to be highly interested in this subject. President Roosevelt proposes a lot of new buildings, and he wants them to the good buildings, better than have ever been constructed before, and more of them. His views might well from a third parallel, pointing in the same direction as the two Harvard reports. May the ambitions of all three men as regards building grow closer and clearer until the time comes when they can blend in the achievements of their object together.