The Art of Architecture
The Art of Architecture The Brisbane architect Lange Leopold Powell (1886-1938) and his work by John W. East Perspective drawing of the proposed St Martin's War Memorial Hospital, Ann Street, Brisbane, by Lange L. Powell, 1919. 2017 CONTENTS 1. Introduction . 1 2. Origins . 4 3. Early Years . 10 4. Chambers and Powell, 1910-1919 . 15 5. 1920-1927 . 30 6. Atkinson, Powell and Conrad, 1927-1931 . 55 7. 1931-1938 . 70 8. Conclusion . 84 Appendix: Selected Projects (in chronological order) . 85 1: Introduction Many architects like to think of themselves as artists (and, in some cases, with very good reason), but art and architecture do not always travel happily together. As the Sydney architect, Jack F. Hennessy junior, wrote in 1932, Many commercial men look upon architects as being unpractical and day-dreamers without any knowledge of business, but such is not the case, and it is up to us to prove it by our work and the advice we give. After all, in many cases a commercial building from the client's point of view is primarily a business investment, and he has every right to expect a good return from it, as well as a place to house him, his staff, and his goods. The artistic treatment of it is the architect's work, as is also the designing of it to obtain a good return.1 Jack Hennessy's artistic gifts were not negligible, but he never let them get in the way of a good business proposition, and he built an Australia-wide practice on the basis of this hard- headed formula.
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