Public Commissions
…there are many kinds of building where some relevant wording could be used; more relevant than a piece of sculpture commissioned as a ‘gesture’ to art. Lettering can be art too, and sculptural art at that; and it can still have a literary quality. And while the building and the letter-form should be integrated, the form must also be sympathetic to the message…
…Who is to design this lettering? The architect? The typographer? Possibly… If well briefed by the architect, the collaboration could be fruitful. What is really required is the development of a new skill - or rather an old skill: that of letter-carver. The ideal person would be a sculptor who understood lettering.
Alan Bartram writing in 1975 in his book Lettering in Architecture.
