BIG COOL STORE.

Auckland Star, Volume LXVIII, Issue 201, 25 August 1937, Page 10

BIG COOL STORE.

WATERFRONT SCHEME. CONSTRUCTION OF PILES. FEATURES OF BUILDING. Beginning the first stage of its big scheme to establish a modern six-storey freezing store on the waterfront, the Auckland Farmers' Freezing Company, Limited, which has acquired the lease of an area of six acres from the Harbour Board, is at present constructing ferro concrete piles to be driven down to the rock under the old sea bed, and thus form the foundations for the building. The general manager of the company, Mr. A. G. Brown, stated to-day that 1300 piles would be required, and that they would vary in length from 32ft to 451t. He said the diameter would vary from 14in to 16in. Some of the piles would be square, but the majority would be octagonal in shape. In driving the piles, explained Mr. Brown, the octagonal ones would be set in nests of as many as, perhaps, half a dozen, for the six-storey block. A subsidiary building to. house th§ .eijgine room would be built upon the square blocks as foundation supports. The boxing of the piles is spread out over a portion of the site, and Mr. Brown said the work of manufacture would probably take several months, and the actual driving of the piles would Tequire six months to complete. "The foundations have to be good," he said.

For the handling of such heavy piles special equipment will be needed, and a ■pile driver mounted on wheels will be used. Each of the piles is being built according to definite information obtained as a result of boring tests. Largest, in Dominion. Discussing the feature^ 1 of., the proposed building, Mr. Brown said it would be on a foundation of 45,000 square, feet,: And wy»uld be one of-the largest stores for dairy produce in the Dominion, probably in the world, and would be one of the best equipped. Electrically-driven machinery would be installed, and tie conveyors, lifts 1 and other labour-saving' devices would be according to the latest design. • V fTfjrr , There would' also be an up-to-date system of railway sidings to facilitate the efficient handling jpf .produce inwards and outwards, and it was prdposed that 'Ji|, hutter should be ohder cover from «! store to the. ship's'hold. Although it was hoped to have the t? 1 KEF , r r for ÜBe at the' beginning of 1939, Mr. Brown said that was at the present time no more than a hope, as it would probably take about a couple of years to carry out, the whole of the work. The company's own staff of experts was undertaking the planning and detailed supervision necessary.

Huge Order For Cork! Another interesting feature mentioned by Mr. Brown was the huge amount of cork required to insulate the walls of the proposed new freeing chambers. He ? ai 2 . f com Pany. had placed an order in Spain for the supply of 300,00& square ™ i™ .would be invilabs 3ft long, Ift wide and 3in thick, Thete slabs would be so placed in the trails thkkness 7 W 111 ake a linin g 6in an °'-S® :Cprk alone .woqltf be £10,000 he said. It was the most up-to-date form insulation obtainable, and in freezing/works construction had almost completely superseded the older type of pumiee filling. Imposing Structure. „• _The building Would be an imposing structure, remarked Mr. .Brown, particularly from the waterfront, and it would be passed by all passenger vessels entering and leaving the port, He said the top floor would offer a'flne panorama of the harbour, and it was anticipated that the company would remove its head offices from the present location at the f<?ot of Queen Street to the top of the new building. Referring to the dimensions of the site, Mr. Brown explained that it extended along the «waterfront from Allenby Road, near the Auckland Power Board's property, to the vehicular ferry approach, and would have a depth north and south extending halfway to Tamaki Drive. The area of six acres should be adequate for all the future requirements of the company's freezing business in Auckland.