HOW TO BECOME AN ARCHITECT.* 1 Pnouon Mr. Yerbury is not
himself an architect, no one could better the practical advice to intending architectural students contained in his little handbook, his long experience as secretary to the Architectural Association having brought
him into touch with most of the present youth of the pro- fession as well as with its leaders. There is no doubt that the profession of architecture has lost many potential ornaments through the general ignorance as to how it may best be entered, the steps up to other walks in life being usually so much more definitely marked and clearly labelled. Mr. Yerbury may be said to have provided both finger-posts and handrail up the long but enthralling stair that leads to the pleasures, pains and profits of architectural practice. He does not minimize the arduousness of the ascent (for there is no escalator in the Learned Professions), but he gives a hint of the ultimate rewards and of the refreshment to be had by the way in the shape of scholarships and prizes.
The author naturally favours institutional training as against articled pupilage in an architect's office, and, seeing that there are now at least ten times as many students as could be got into the few offices where a really able principal could and would give adequate time and attention to his " pups," the school system is clearly the one to support as ensuring a decently high level of architectural education for the majority.
We have heard a good deal about women architects since the War, though we have never personally encountered one. Mr. Yerbury's views on the subject are unprejudiced and friendly, though his statement of them is somewhat non- committal
The wide responsibilities of general practice, with the recurring anxieties in connexion with large building schemes, involving big contracts, questions of rights of light, complex constructional problems, and the attendant need for frequent travelling and inspection of work under what are sometimes difficult conditions, may not appeal to some women, but even for those there remains a very wide field for activity. If a woman is highly skilled in draughtsmanship she will find plenty of scope in an architect's office, or she may specialize in practice in domestic work, garden design, or decoration, all of which call for a thorough architectural training. It is a fallacy to suppose, however, that the woman student taking up architecture is necessarily bound to make a greater success of domestic work than the man. The common talk of women's superior knowledge of household requirements should in this connexion be ignored by those responsible for entering a girl for the Profession, as it should be remembered that the student coming to her professional training direct from school knows no more of domestic requirements than the male student in the same position, and even if she does have ideas for the planning of the ideal house, she, like her brother, is in due time forced to face the unpleasant fact of costs, and, on the whole, will probably develop a respect for the ingenuity displayed by many of the creators of the ' man-designed house.' That she may in actual practice be able to handle domestic work with greater case and pleasure than larger works is true, and the same applies to garden design and decoration ; but actually the whole field of architectural practice is open to her under similar conditions, as far as she is capable and desirous of conforming to them, as for men."
One of the most useful chapters is that giving a list of the books that it is necessary or, at any rate, desirable that the student should read, whilst others deal with study abroad, museums and professional institutions, architectural practice, draughtsmanship, and of course training generally. A book so informing about a strangely mysterious profession should be secure of a place in every public school library.
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