In fact, it is only in obedience to that law of general movement which characterizes these times, that the institution in question has had its birth—the universal voice calls for advance—the arts of design are to be revived, and the debasement of centuries cast off. Schools are being established under government patronage, and mechanics’ institutes were but a phase of progress—the thirst for knowledge has been stimulated, but not gratified. There remains, then, to be formed an institution wherein the theory and practice of art may accompany each other; and this is proposed by the Builders’ College.
Thus, while the pupil will be made familiar with the best examples of ancient and modern decoration by means of books, drawings, models, and the inspection of buildings; while he will be instructed in the principles of design, and in the science of construction upon which they depend; while he will be made a skilful draughtsman and colourist, he will be trained in the handicraft arts, so as to be able to produce the works themselves, the objects of his study and investigation.
But in addition to all this, it is necessary that he learn so much of practical mechanics, mathematics, and of experimental and natural philosophy, as to be guided in his art by the rationale which these supply. Mechanical laws and mechanical powers have a wide range of influence in the arts of design; for how shall a man embellish his work appropriately who knows not the former, or how economize in the use and application of machinery, without being conversant with the latter? Mathematical science, in particular as to the properties of figures and of numbers, is essential to him—and as to sound, light, and heat—as to the ventilation of buildings, supply of water, and drainage—as to chemical constituents and processes affecting the preparation, combination, and preservation of his materials—as to the natural fitness of metals and minerals, of vegetable and even animal products to be used in building—as to the vast suggestive sources of construction and of ornament that exist in the whole arcanum of nature—how, in all these respects, shall the pupil make efficient or rational progress; or how acquire a mastery of his art, unless he study and be made acquainted with the sciences and laws that bear upon and illustrate its several elements?
History, and, indeed, general literature, as bearing upon the subject of his inquiries, will demand a share of his attention. It is not, however, to be supposed that the pupil can be critically or curiously learned in all these, nor, on the other hand, that a superficial knowledge will avail; but it is considered that by confining attention to the matter of each that strictly pertains to architecture, and by combining as far as possible, in one establishment, the means of pursuing an unbroken scheme of instruction, that the evils of a too general and desultory system of study, and of widely-scattered sources of information, will be largely remedied.
The bringing together of a number of youths and their associate teachers, probably from all quarters of the world (as already promises to be the case); the contact of various minds, influenced by various national peculiarities, but all bent upon one comprehensive enterprise of attainment; the working together in the various practical development of progress, under practical instructors, and for practical and intelligible ends—these, and a number of other circumstances of a favouring character, must conduce to a rapid progress and an extensive and sound proficiency.
And not least in the assumed merits of this Institution are the features pertaining to ordinary or general school education; the neglect of early youth may be repaired here, or the acquirements of that period secured, and directed to practical purposes; arithmetic, mensuration, book-keeping, classic literature, and the French, German, and Italian languages, which are almost essential to the education of an artist, will be taught in their due routine, and the facility for acquiring them considerably enlarged by association with students and tutors speaking the respective languages of their own countries.
By uniting, therefore, the pursuit of knowledge to a strict system of supervision and instruction—of regular and fixed hours of employment and recreation, and of constant practical tendencies, engaging the students in the designing, fabricating, and applying objects of art, confiding to them at proper opportunities and periods the superintendence of works and workmen, and giving them at the same time the benefits of social converse with their fellows and tutors, whether in study, work, recreation, or refection; paying a strict attention to their morals, habits, and health; in fine, by aiming at the best practical union of the home, the school, the workshop, and the studio, it is hoped that a fine class of men may be produced, fitted to the exigencies of the times, and calculated to advance the arts, and do honour to their country. Neither is this attempt so novel or so extraordinary as it may seem; the history of art in former times, and the practice of contemporary professors abroad, give sanction to the scheme. It is not with every man a gift or a passion to apply himself to teaching in conjunction with the practice of his art, but some of the greatest names of antiquity and of this present age are associated with schools and styles, and indeed it is an important question to be put, as to whether the business of education, paramount as it is above all other business, should not be conducted by and confided to practical men.
Let the groundwork be well laid in the minds of the ardent and generous of our young countrymen. Let their ambition to excel be honestly encouraged and directed. Open to them the pages of past history, as to the glorious and sublime achievements of the architects and associate artists of old, and point out to them the path of equal, or it may be greater distinction (for who shall say what mechanical and chemical science, allied to the inspiration of genius, may produce); and we shall no more hear of the complaints of inferiority, or of the want of original talent in the Fine Arts among our countrymen.
It may be urged by many that this is a gigantic work, and should be left to the government, or a company. A moment’s reflection, however, will check the thought of the former in an English breast, and the interference of companies with objects of private enterprize, is, perhaps, as much to be deprecated. That this is a legitimate object of private enterprize, may be inferred from what has been already said as to ancient and contemporary practice. And in a matter where so much depends upon the bias of the heart—where fatherly care, as much as artistic sentiment is needed, to guide and form the student—where every interest of the superior is bound up with that of the pupil, associating the success of the former in his practice, with the probity and proficiency of the latter—where an intelligent conception of interest and duty reigns in the mind of the principal—these, it is presumed, offer the strongest guarantees of success, when other arrangements, through companies or co-partnerships, under boards of directors and managers, would be likely to fail.
All that can be done in this respect has probably been done in the London University and King’s College, by appointing professors, instituting classes, and giving a course of lectures in Architecture and Engineering; or by taking the matter a step further as is being tried at the College of Civil Engineers, Putney. The rest must be accomplished in the office or the atelier of the professor, and in works and buildings conducted by him. The pupil in this case takes part in practical operations with an intelligible aim, and a tangible end. He is identified with, or interested in, their progress, and imbibes knowledge of a most profitable kind through grateful and agreeable channels.