The Background
This fascinating diatribe by G.L. Norrman was published in the article “Architecture as a Career for Young Men”, from the April 4, 1903, edition of The Sunny South.
A reporter asked 3 leading Atlanta architects of the time to offer advice for young men considering an architectural career (the emphasis on men is notable, as women were entering the field in increasing numbers).
While W.T. Downing and W.F. Denny provided honest but measured remarks, Norrman gave a surprisingly blunt and weary assessment of the architect’s plight, with more than a hint of bitterness. His criticism of design competitions was particularly timely.
The next month, plans Norrman entered in competition for the city hall in Savannah, Georgia, were deemed “the best of the fourteen submitted.”3 However, all the competing plans were ultimately rejected, and the project was instead awarded to a local designer, H.W. Witcover.4
A later news investigation revealed: “The plans the City liked best, were those of Mr. G.L. Norrman of Atlanta, but he had no pull with the machine.”5
The newspaper alleged that Norrman’s plans were handed to Witcover — “a friend of the administration” — who was paid over $10,000 to design nearly identical plans.6 Savannah’s city hall was completed in 1906 and is indeed highly similar to Norrman’s design.
Little wonder Norrman was so disparaging of his profession.
Norrman’s remarks:
“The gift of gab is the essential thing for the architect. Knowledge, sense of proportion, and beauty, regard for it as an art, no longer count in architecture. One must be pleasant and agreeable, one must get business and make money.
“This is success counted in dollars and cents. It is success as the public understands it. It is the succcess that is appreciated. Thorough knowledge is dangerous; a ‘pleasing address’ is more to be desired than great wisdom.
“As I say, this is the popular conception of architecture. But architecture itself is an art; one must, in a large degree, be born for it. The training must be long and thorough—four years at some university, for the basic culture which leads to an understanding of the classic terms and figures used in architecture, and (in this country) four years in the polytechnic schools. In the École des Beaux-Arts in Paris the course is six years. After that, practical work in an architect’s office—making in all ten or twelve years of preparation.
“Is the apprenticeship long and arduous? I should say so—that is, to become an architect. This, however, is not necessary to make money in the profession of architecture. One then needs only to learn the superficial tricks; and so long as he has the aforementioned gift of gab it is only necessary that his building be safe, and the bricks stay in place. The public will never be any wiser.
“This is the most discouraging part of the profession. Let a man labor for years, and produce a masterpiece, the public will never notice it. It is the spirit of the age; it is as much so in Europe as in America. Nowadays, no one asks, Is he a good architect? but rather, Does he make money out of architecture?
“This is true of all artistic professions, but the worst part of it as applied to architecture is that plans must often be submitted in competition, where the judges are men in other lines of work. They would laugh at you if you claimed to understand dry goods, and they would be offended if you intimated that they didn’t understand architecture, and yet they pass on your design. It may be the result of years of study and experience, and the best of the lot; but it is not an accident if it is accepted. Not knowing anything about it, they say, ‘Give it to So-and-so; he’s a good fellow.’
“But to return to the beginner. His apprenticeship must be thorough, and in addition to his school training he must do office work. I think that artistic feeling is necessary to a large degree, though a sense of proportion and the finer distinctions between styles and ornament are largely things of habit and training. One may cultivate them much as a man cultivates command of language.
“What does architecture offer? At a recent civil service examination 150 trained draughtsmen applied for a government position which paid $1,500 a year. The winner of the new depot competition will get $1,000, and this for years of hard and unappreciated work. A farmer could make more on one year’s hay crop, and with one-tenth the nervous strain and exertion. No, I can’t say that the young man may expect a bonanza.”7
References
- “Mr. Lawrence McNeil’s New Residence”. Savannah Morning News (Savannah, Georgia), November 1, 1902, p. 12. ↩︎
- “Society”. Savannah Morning News, January 30, 1904, p. 7 ↩︎
- “Design By G.L. Norrman, Atlanta”. Savannah Morning News (Savannah, Georgia), May 20, 1903, p. 8. ↩︎
- “All Plans Rejected”. Savannah Morning News (Savannah, Georgia), May 28, 1903, p. 10. ↩︎
- “Lest We Forget”. The Searchlight (Savannah, Georgia), January 5, 1907, p. 2. ↩︎
- ibid. ↩︎
- “Architecture As a Career For Young Men”. The Sunny South (Atlanta), April 4, 1903, p. 4. ↩︎