A WORLD CENTRE OF COMMUNICATION AS CONCEIVED BY E. M. HEBRARD AND H. C. ANDERSEN: "Illustrated"
A. T. EDWARDS
1914
Town planning review
z 0 -I-« o -Z :J ver~y large stadium. To the riglrt and left are gynlnasia for men and women, III the .A.Tt Centre there are a central 'I'emple of Art, a conservat.orium for Music and Drama, and museums, schools, and libraries that appertain to these. The Scientific Centre is dominated by the Tower of Progress, over 1,000 feet high. At its base is a \Vorld Press which " could receive and rapidly distribute throughout the world all knowledge of vital importance." Surrounding this are four
more »
... ional Scientific Congress buildings, while to the right and left are the Temple of Religions and the International Court of J usticc. Between the Art Centre and the Scientific Centre are two long rows of " Palaces of the Nations" in which ambassadors would perform their duties. There are university centres cut off Irom the main stream of traffic; there are hospitals, exhibition buildings, and stations in tlleir appropriate places; the underground railways go exactly where they should, and t.he e:xits and entrances thereto are conveniently situatecl. A belt of park land surrounds the city. Tlrere is an aviation port, of course. In fact, t.he World Centre is supposecl to be The City Beautiful, the complete and perfect metropolis. But before trying to arrive at any conclusion concerning it, we must ask ourselves the question whether it is possible to have such a Centre at all, and also the further question whether, if such a Centre is possible, it is desirable. Having disposed of these to the best of our ability, it will remain for us to enter UpOll a detailed criticism of the city itself. For although we may deny the necessity of this world-rnetropolis, although we may contend that it is not only incapable of immediate realisation but worthless even as an ideal, lYI. Hebrard's scheme raises so many points which are of interest to 'I'own Planners that they will find it a profitable occupation to give close attention to it. Hence the first part of this review will consist in an examination of the ideal of which the VV'orld Centre is an expression, while the second part will deal with the World Centre itself, and will be devoted to a critique both of the plan and of the more important works of architecture designed by M. Hebrard and his collaborators. The Supermetropolitan I deal Internationalism, Social and Political In his book, " The World Centre," M. Andersen has a great deal to say about "love" and "brotherhood." He would do away with all national prejudices and animosities. Now, when he talks of "love" and" brotherhood" it becomes obvious that his ideal is largely a political one. He is aiming at the establishment of universal peace. It never seems to have occurred to him, however, that the cosmopolitan culture which he rightly imagines to be inevitable can exist side by side with an
doi:10.3828/tpr.5.1.3wp8554101265360
fatcat:y5whz4tcrbcfnnabrzoambcyye