The Quality of Fitness in the Architecture of the 20th Century: An Oversighted Design Principle from the Beaux-Arts Tradition

Abstract

Architectural design method from the tradition of the École Nationale Supérieure des Beaux-arts de Paris, considered one of the most prestigious educational institutions since its establishment in the 17 century, flourished until the Second World War across the countries aligned with the culture of the West. Though it marked the majority of buildings designed and constructed during the first four decades of the 20th century, pre-Second World War Beaux-Arts architecture remains under-researched within the international historiography. Exploring a lesser known design principle from the Beaux-Arts tradition – the quality of fitness in architecture – this paper aims to contribute to a better understanding of the topic. By the 20th century, Beaux-Arts architects – though, indeed, ever aware of the aesthetic potentials of architecture – approached design pragmatically. Beaux-Arts tradition insisted on functional designs, sensitive towards the local context and the use of the cutting-edge building technologies. Exploring an example from New Zealand architectural history, this paper will show that Beaux-Arts methodology was more practical than what has been generally proposed by the historians of architecture.