'QUAKE-RESISTING.

Auckland Star, Volume LX, Issue 281, 27 November 1929, Page 12

'QUAKE-RESISTING.

DEEPLY-LAID FOUNDATIONS. HUG*E BUILDING CONTRACT.

An old crater fell away when the foundations were being laid for the memorial building, and it was found necessary to sink the walls to a depth of more than 40ft on the south-western corner before they rested on solid rock. At that part, in! fact, there is almost as much of a wall below the surace as there is aVjove. Nothing was left to chance, and the building stands as secure, it would seem, as the famous temples of Athens. Walls, 2ft thick in places, of solid reinforced concrete have been designed and built to withstand earthquake shock, and a massive 'concrete slab from 7-Jin to 9in thick, which forms the ground floor, gives a convincing impression of stability. It took over five years to bring the work to completion, and for the greater part of the time a hundred men were engaged. Then the fitting of showcases"" and the classifying of exhibits called for the services of a staff ot experts. Educational work of this nature will be a matter for further special attention in years to come, but much has been achieved in the past 1° months.

Materials in a contract of such importance amount to thousands of tons. Tie excavations included 15,700 yards for the building and a still greater quantity for the approaches. Concrete tor the Avails made a total of 10,000 cubic yards, the cement being- 2500 tons; bov ing required for the concrete was 650,001; superficial feet, reinforcing steel -< 3 tons, and galvanised iron wall ties for the cavity walls numbered 10,000. Common bricks, although they do not seem to bulk largely, because hidden from view, are an important item. One ana a half million Avere used, and the nm° for the mortar alone Aveighed 560 tons. English quarries benefited by the importation of 40,000 cubic feet of Portland stone for the building, and Coromandel quarries by orders for 5000 cubic feet of granite. ,. ft Plastering operations involved tun covering of an area of 33,900 square yards of wall, and for this work *» tons of cement and 1000 tons of sana Avere necessary. The asphalt for tne roof measured' 4260 yards, and the copper for plumbing weighed 8J tons. A small fortune would be needed w purchase the glass for the museum building. There are, for instance, 32J) superficial feet of leadlights, 4500 superficial feet of polished plate glass for fl» exterior -windows, and an even greater amount for the showcases inside, »w feet of ordinary glass for windows, ana 8020 feet of roof plate glass for the sky lights.