Studio: international art (33.1905)

Designs for Labourers' Cottages

in the luxury of dressing-gowns. The Miller's
Daughter (page 154) sends a pretty group and a
simply and naturally arranged plan. The verandah
is apparently roofed with stone slabs, which another
of the competitors, Mick (page 157), also employs
for his roof. This he arranges with its eaves about
the level of the first floor, and thus obtains the
lowness of effect so pleasant in cottage work.
Blois, on the contrary, shows on his elevations a
tiled roof. This would be impossible for the
centre portion where the pitch is less than 30 degs.,
which is the least that even slates demand. Mercia
(page 158) shows a design with a nice cottage feel-
ing, rather marred by the tall and villa-like staircase
window on the end elevation. The stairs of the
centre house have not been very carefully thought
out. In a length of 8 feet the occupants would
have to get up 9 feet, and, as shown, this seems to
mean a tread of 6 inches. Down South (page 158)
introduces a kind of porte-cochere-Yike porch, which
possibly is meant to be used as a verandah.
Gahpoo has a good plan, but, like several of the
others, uses a 9-inch external wall, which is not
commendable. Simple as the elevation is, we do
not think he ought to hope to build his cottage for
\\d. a foot. " The spirited little sketch of Tjme
(page 159) shows a balanced arrangement of plan
with small square turrets enclosing the staircases.
The oval windows in these seem a little large and
out of scale, and his little staircase is shown
lighted by a window on plan, which on elevation
seems to be only a fanlight. Nine feet by 8 feet is
small even for cottage bedrooms ; a remark that also
applies to the plans of Averpop (whose rooms are

8 feet 6 inches by 7 feet 9 inches) and Old Mercer
(page 159). The kitchen, also, of the latter, thanks
to the chimney-breast, is even smaller than the

9 feet 6 inches by 9 feet he figures it. Gad (page
160) also shows square towers, here enclosing the
parlour, and apparently restricting the width of
this to 9 feet 8 inches. Between the towers he runs
a long verandah. Derwent also shows a verandah
common to the three cottages. His provision ot
a separate bath room is a little extravagant, but
hardly so much so as the case of Petworth, who gets
not only a bath-room but a first-floor w.c, and this
he arranges on the opposite side of the building to

he rest of the drainage system. His bedroom
No 3, measured from the chimney-breast, is only
5 feet 3 inches wide, and it seems impossible to
place in it both bed and bedroom furniture. The
same criticism applies to fanus, part of whose
front bedroom is only 5 feet wide. Alpha sends
three designs. In his No. 1 the arrangement of

coals near the entrance porch, and out of the wash-
house is not good planning. We prefer his plan
No. 2, which also has a quiet and simple elevation.
In No. 3, the bedroom windows of the side houses
seem to have sills only 2 feet, and window-heads
only 5 feet 6 inches, above the floor. Economy in
his plan No. 1 lives up to his name!—except
that he employs a good deal of lead on the flat
roof of his dormers. Of his two elevations that
of No. 2 seems the more pleasing, but the absence
of centring of the windows in any of the gables is
not very pleasant. In Wee Macgreegor's (page 160)
inexpensive design we could wish he had not
economised to the extent of making his wash-house
6 feet by 5 feet. Alton also has considered
economy of cost, but under very few Local
Authorities is one allowed to build a cavity wall of
two 4i-inch brick thickness. The 9-inch external
walls laid down in the Model By-Laws of the
Local Government Board are usually insisted on.
It would be difficult to place the beds in the two
middle bedrooms of L'Eleves (page 161) plan,
thanks to the steep slope of the ceiling. Epoh
sends what is distinctly the most original plan and
treatment. We can only regret that his inventive-
ness is marred by the fact that the windows
that light the bedrooms on the kitchen-garden side
apparently allow only about half the proper propor-
tion of light. To increase the size of these dormers
would go far to spoil the picturesque quality of his
design. That is unfortunate, but after all a properly
lighted room is a consideration of greater importance
than picturesqueness. The Villain (page 161) sends a
carefully drawn little set of sketches. His living-room
is of the inordinate length of 23 feet, and we are
afraid his staircase will be pitch dark. The porch
shown in Kenelms spirited coloured-sketch is- but
meagre. His entrance is barely 3 feet. Esperanzo has
evolved a complicated plan, in which, by-the-way, the
kitchen of the centre house only shows a space of
6 feet 6 inches between the dresser and the chimney
breast. The elevation is rather lofty, but would be
pleasing from its simplicity. Lamartine's plan is
also complicated and his scheme is very pleasantly
set forth in pencil sketches. He keeps his design
quite simple, and relies upon massing his flues
together to enable him to make his chimneys into
the important factor of his design.

Amongst others from whom we have received
designs showing a fair amount of ability and
resource are Poor Man, Nemo, Toby, Game, Marc
and Chickaboo ; and on the whole, in spite of the
shortcomings that have been pointed out, the
competition may be regarded as a successful one.

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