Page:John Nolen--New ideals in the planning of cities.djvu/88

NEW IDEALS IN THE PLANNING OF In the planning of public building groups the points of special importance to note are:

1. The need of a dominant feature or building.

2. Provision for good vistas along important axes.

3. Right relation of the shapes and sizes of the open spaces to the shapes, sizes and locations of surrounding buildings.

4. Harmony of materials and of architectural styles.

5. Unity of the composition as a whole—the buildings, the open spaces, the sculpture, fountains and incidental features.

6. Distinctiveness and individuality. If possible, each civic center should be expressive, to some extent, of the special character of the city itself—its climate, its population, its needs.

7. Finally, a permanently satisfactory and convenient civic center must have a proper location and relation to the general plan of the city, especially to the system of street circulation, and to the retail, amusement and other sections used daily by great numbers of citizens.

The problem of a city's public buildings is always a local one, and must be worked out, if it is to be successful, from a careful examination of local conditions. In all cases, however, the problems must be studied with regard to the conditions of the city as a whole, and with a foresight that takes into account the city's growth. The conditions in modern times are such as to require a recognized general scheme of development of public buildings, and this recognition must be given on the one hand to the controlling conditions of economy, and on the other to those of the appropriate, dignified and beautiful expression of civic ideals.

Special reference should be made to the chapter by Edward H. Bennett on "Public Buildings and Quasi-Public