The architecture of humanism; a study in the history of taste

THE MECHANICAL FALLACY

119

laws. Weight and resistance,
burden and effort,

weakness

andpower,areelementsinourown.exgeri-

ence,<aiidinseparableinthat
experiencefrom

feelings

ofease,exultation,ordistress. Butweightandresist-

ance,weaknessandpower,aremanifestelementsalso

inarchitecture,whichenactsthroughtheirmeansa

kindofhumandrama. Throughthemthemechani-

cal solutions of mechanical problems achieve

an

gesthetic

interestandanideal

value.

Structure,then,

is,ontheonehand,thetechniquebywhichthe

artof

architectureismadepossible;and,ontheotherhand,

itispartofits

artisticcontent. Butinthefirstcase

it

issubjecttomechanicallawspurely,in

thesecond

to

psychological laws. This double function, or

doublesignificance, ofstructure

is the causeofour

confusion.

I

For the aesthetic efficacy of

structure

doesnotdevelopor

varyparipassuwith structural

technique. They stand in

relation

to

oneanother,

but

notinafixedrelation. Somestructural

expedi-'

ents,thoughvalid

technically,arenotvalidaestheti-

cally,and

viceversa. Manyforceswhichoperate

in

themechanicalconstructionof a

buildingarepromi-

nentlydisplayed

andsharplyrealisable. They

have

amasteryoverthe

imaginationfarinexcess,perhaps,

oftheir

effectiveuse. Other

forces,ofequalmoment

towardsstability,

remainhiddenfromtheeye.

They

escapeus

altogether

;

or,

calculatedbytheintellect,

stillfindnoechoinour

physicalimagination.

They