The DIA Cautionary Guide to St. Albans : edited by Clough Williams-Ellis : Design & Industries Association : London, 1929
One of a series of small booklets issued by the Design & Industries Association (in this case 'jointly' with the Council for the Preservation of Rural England) in the 1920s and '30s dealing with matters of design, architecture and planning. Or rather, as they saw it, the lack of! The inter-war period, with the evidence of earlier Victorian and Edwardian excess and the rapidly developing suburbs of Britain, was rich territory for those concerned with aesthetic matters such as the impact of inappropriate design and architecture and rampant advertising. These were the years before effective planning laws, although some restrictions on 'ribbon development. alongside main roads was introduced pre-WW2, and it would be 1947 before the post-war Labour Government brought in the Town & Country Planning Axt. This legislation did deal with many of the issues raised in booklets such as this and by the organisations concerned.
The booklet takes a look around the ancient town of St Albans in Hertfordshire and, through photos and text by Clough William-Ellis, the eminent architect, notes the 'good, bad and the ugly'. The DIA was formed in 1915 by a group of designers, businessmen and industrialists intent on raising the standard and prominence of good design and the value this brought. One important figure in the DIA was Frank Pick, the London Underground manager, who brought the ethos of the DIA into play during his work to improve London's Transport before the outbreak of WW2.
The cover's illustartion is signed "Grimmond" and this may be, I think, William Grimmond (1884 - 1952).
The DIA Cautionary Guide to St. Albans : edited by Clough Williams-Ellis : Design & Industries Association : London, 1929
One of a series of small booklets issued by the Design & Industries Association (in this case 'jointly' with the Council for the Preservation of Rural England) in the 1920s and '30s dealing with matters of design, architecture and planning. Or rather, as they saw it, the lack of! The inter-war period, with the evidence of earlier Victorian and Edwardian excess and the rapidly developing suburbs of Britain, was rich territory for those concerned with aesthetic matters such as the impact of inappropriate design and architecture and rampant advertising. These were the years before effective planning laws, although some restrictions on 'ribbon development. alongside main roads was introduced pre-WW2, and it would be 1947 before the post-war Labour Government brought in the Town & Country Planning Axt. This legislation did deal with many of the issues raised in booklets such as this and by the organisations concerned.
The booklet takes a look around the ancient town of St Albans in Hertfordshire and, through photos and text by Clough William-Ellis, the eminent architect, notes the 'good, bad and the ugly'. The DIA was formed in 1915 by a group of designers, businessmen and industrialists intent on raising the standard and prominence of good design and the value this brought. One important figure in the DIA was Frank Pick, the London Underground manager, who brought the ethos of the DIA into play during his work to improve London's Transport before the outbreak of WW2.
The cover's illustartion is signed "Grimmond" and this may be, I think, William Grimmond (1884 - 1952).