American School of Architecture, Rome.
A recent circular issued by the committee of the American School of Architecture at Rome contains a general description of the organization of the school and its work. On the twelfth of last June, at a meeting held in New York, it was decided to found such a school, and a committee of control was selected including the chiefs of the schools of architecture at the different American colleges where such exist. We give below some quotations from this circular which will be found of interest.
The school is founded for the benefit of advanced students only, and is designed to further the more disciplinary work of other institutions by opening to young men, already well trained by them in drawing and design, certain special lines of study, which at present can be pursued only under great disadvantages. Beginners, accordingly, will not be received. Such work is not suitable to their condition, and it would be a mistake to encourage them to devote their time to it. But to the holders of traveling scholarships, to those who have acquitted themselves with distinction in the competitions for these scholarships, and to members of the Ecole des Beaux-Arts of at least three years' standing, it offers opportunities for the completion of their professional training which students thus equipped will, it is believed, find of inestimable value. Other well-accredited students may be admitted to certain hospitalities of the school, at the discretion of the secretary.
Hitherto the holders of traveling scholarships have followed very largely their own judgment as to their travel and study, and have produced, as required, a certain number of carefully measured drawings, which have borne testimony to the diligence of their authors, their facility with pen, pencil, and brush, and the evident seriousness of their intentions; but the work has necessarily shown no common purpose and little consistent prosecution along carefully chosen lines. This being their common experience, the past holders of traveling scholarships are general in their approval of the effort to direct foreign travel and study hereafter to more definite and specific courses.
The school is one of observation and research rather than of design, aiming to form a correct taste and to impress upon the mind, by daily contact with great examples, those principles which are essential to the enduring quality in architecture, be the style what it may. To this end the founders of the school believe it to be of the utmost importance for an architect, before he begins his professional career, to study thoroughly and on the spot the monuments of ancient architecture and such works of the Italian Renaissance as are worthy of being considered their successors. The monuments best suited to this purpose are those of Greece and Italy, and the headquarters of the school are established at Rome rather than at Athens, because of the greater amount of material there at hand of use to the modern student not only in the art of architecture itself, but in that of mural painting and in the decorative arts, including architectural sculpture.
The school was formally opened under the charge of Mr. Austin W. Lord, as secretary, on the first of November last, in temporary quarters in the upper story of the Palazzo Torlonia, on the southwest corner of the Via dei Condotti and the Via Bocca di Leone, between the Corso and the Piazza di Spagna; but a permanent home has now been secured in the building known as the Casino dell'Aurora, occupying a part of the grounds formerly belonging to the Villa Ludovisi. This building is situated upon an isolated plot of ground, raised fifteen or twenty feet above the surrounding streets, and comprising about eighty thousand square feet, which is the size of the enclosed space in Gramercy Park in the city of New York. It is on the Pincian Hill, not far from the French Academy in the Villa Medici. The building contains about thirty rooms; some of these are decorated with well-known frescoes, among which is the Aurora of Guercino. The grounds, which were laid out by Lenôtre, are well covered with trees and shrubs, and afford ample space for the erection of additional one story buildings, should such be required at any time for workrooms or studios.
Personal.
Mr. A. L. Nicholson, formerly with Davis & Von Storch, architects, Scranton, Pa., has accepted a position with De Lemos & Cordes, Fulton Building, Fulton and Nassau Streets, New York.
Mr. Dwight H. Perkins, of the firm of Perkins & Selby, Marshall Field Building, Chicago, opened a new office on May 1 at 1107 Steinway Hall Building, Chicago.
Mr. Myron H. Hunt, recently returned from an extended trip abroad, has gone into the office of Shepley, Rutan & Coolidge in Chicago.
Mr. F. N. Reed, who has distinguished himself in the Rotch Scholarship competition, having been given second place each time in the last three years, is now with Cabot, Everett & Mead of Boston.
Brochure Series Competition No. 1.
Program: The Henry F. Miller Piano Company of Boston, with the idea of turning the attention of designers to the problem of artistic piano cases, has placed in the hands of publishers of The Brochure Series $50, to be awarded for sketches of piano cases. Three prizes of $25, $15, and $10 will be given for the three best designs submitted, the judges to be the officers, of the company, assisted by an architect who shall be appointed by the publishers.
It is not the idea of the Henry F. Miller Piano Company to secure designs for actual use, as their work in special case design is almost entirely to order, carrying out designs for architects and decorators. Therefore, only sketches are required which may be executed in any medium the designer may choose, although due regard should be paid to the reproductive character of the drawing. A perspective sketch, showing the right end and front of the case, is required to be made on paper, not exceeding 8x12 in. in size.
The diagram above gives the necessary dimensions. In designing the end the only thing to be borne in mind is the construction of the case, the front telescoping into the back or frame, as shown by the plan of the end. The quarter round finish of the back is not necessary, the treatment of the end being optional so long as dimensions and construction are regarded.
The arm or end of the keyboard (c), the foot (a), the "truss" (b), which supports the keyboard, are all left entirely to the designer, the only dimensions to be regarded being the height of keyboard from the floor (2 ft. 1 in.), the top of the keys (4-1/2 in. higher), and the space (4 ft.) occupied by the keys. The arm projects 1 ft. 1 in. beyond the front.
Drawings must be sent carriage paid so as to reach the editor of The Brochure Series on or before July 15, 1895.
The prize designs will become the property of the Henry F. Miller Piano Company. The other designs will be returned to their authors. It is to be understood, however, that any or all designs may be exhibited or published, and that they may be retained a reasonable time after judgment for these purposes.
The details and management of the competition are left entirely to the publishers of The Brochure Series, and it is hoped that this, the first of a number of competitions they will endeavor to arrange, will bring out the work of the best designers. If there is any portion of this program not clearly understood, the publishers will explain more in detail upon request.