The fourteenth annual convention of the American Institute of Architects
began in Philadelphia, November 17. Mr. Thomas U. Walter, of
Philadelphia, presided, and fifty or more prominent architects were
present. In his annual address the president spoke of the tendency of
the architectural world as decidedly in the direction of originality.
But little attention is paid to the types of building drawn from the
works of by-gone ages or to the mannerisms of the more recent past.
Progress in the development of the elements of taste and beauty, and the
concretion of æsthetic principles with common sense in architectural
design, are now everywhere apparent. The responsibilities of architects
are greater than they have ever before been; the growing demand of the
times calls for intelligent studies in all that relates to architecture,
whether it be in the realm of æsthetics, in sciences that relate to
construction, in the nature and properties of the materials used, in the
atmosphere that surrounds us, or in the availability of the
thousand-and-one useful and ingenious inventions that tend to promote
the convenience and completeness of structures.
Papers were read by Mr. A. J. Blood, of New York, on "The Best Method of
Solving the Tenement House Problem;" Mr. George T. Mason, Jr., of
Newport, on "The Practice of American Architects during the Colonial
Period;" Mr. Robert Briggs, of Philadelphia, on "The Ventilation of
Audience Rooms;" Mr. T. M. Clark, of Boston, on "French Building Laws,
etc."
The following named officers were elected: President, T. U. Walter,
Philadelphia; Treasurer, O. P. Hatfield, New York; Secretary, A. J.
Blood. Trustees, R. M. Hunt, H. M. Congdon, J. Cady, Napoleon Le Brun,
New York. Committee on Publication, R. M. Upjohn, New York; T. M. Clark,
Boston; John McArthur, Jr., Philadelphia; A. J. Blood, H. M. Congdon,
New York. Committee on Education, W. R. Narr, Boston; Russell Sturgis,
New York; N. Clifford Ricker, Champagne, Ill.; Henry Van Brunt, Boston;
Alfred Stone, Providence. Corresponding Secretary, T. M. Clark, Boston.
The time and place of the next annual convention were left to the Board
of Trustees, with a request that Washington be selected.
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