AUCKLAND'S MEMORIAL.

Press, Volume LVIII, Issue 17570, 27 September 1922, Page 4

AUCKLAND'S MEMORIAL.

DESIGN OF MUSEUM. TTio design accented for the Auckland War Memorial Museum is one submitted by Messrs Grierson and Aimer and If. K. TJraifin, of Auckland. Based on classical lines of rare architectural beauty, the building, as depicted by the authors, is exceedingly handsome, and sufficiently imposing and dignified to mako it impossible for even the casual observer to fail in appreciation of the purpose which it win represent. Approacned by a flight of exceptionally wide steps, the mam entrance ib au outstanding feature of the conception. A broad terrace stands at the head of the steps, and hero, it is proposed, a cenotaph shall bo erected, on a scale liKely to -harmoniso with the general effect of the building. The plans provide for future extension, the side walls being designed in a suitable manner, although tneir characteristics are in keeping with the handsome front elevation. The vestibules will be easy of access, and u central lecture chamber, complete with a platform, will accommodate 600. To the right, facilities are provided for a museum, and future development. An easy stairway leads up to the first floor, and here are situated the Maori Court and the New Zealand Natural History Hall. The measurements of all the halls on this floor aro 60ft by 130 ft. Above, on the next floor, the central memorial hall will be situated, and here will be kept records of the . war. In the Hall of Memory the most prominent feature is a sarcophagus, raised on steps in a central space, arranged for the reception of wreaths and other memorial emblems. A roll of honour is provided on the side and end walls. A war trophies hall and the foreign ethnology hall are on the right, whilst the institute library is on the left. "There was always a danger that the utility aspect of this museum project might overshadow the larger consideration—that this building was intended to be a memorial to those who fought and fell in the greatest of wars (says the Auckland "Star"). The memory of these soldiers and the selfrespect of the community demanded that architecturally the building should be dignified, if not noble, and that it should be recognisable as a war memorial. The winning design combines these requirements. We do not think it an exaggeration to call its exterior noble, and it embodies the idea of a memorial not only in its decoration and the treatment of the ground in front, but in the very form of the building. It is a design worthy of the cause that produced it. Placed on one of the finest sites in Auckland, and, indeed, in the world, it will be by far the most impressive architectural monument in the city, a building which, besides serving well the purposes of a museum, will help to keep alive the memory of the saviours of freedom and civilisation, and will be to this and succeeding generations a call to interest and effort in art."