HEARTH AND HOME

Press, Volume LX, Issue 18015, 6 March 1924, Page 6

HEARTH AND HOME

h-Svi&T.;

NOTES. TV* .V-." r/.-n 1 '.'awiou.n. *<«'•.. n--'' t-r-;-"'- : : ~rir: Ifcir'vi/ir/":s - r . ; a. Lutireli. Ltd.. arc- tlve cor..ir<: ;nr;tc<i rr.r th-v oopusmrchr; or •' principally :r. -oodxor!-:• I-Ancaswr Par::. "'/! v enormous f.cr.ro c: £ ; ; : >.', : /j '/.flvrvi little to rr.osrriii.ds axr-KitC tmti :t n a lot or rr.or.o-y. Th.a. '.vi-.hiu :>--v ::■.111%: l inri~, it.'.Of.: r.-i U1 £ft VIC HSIT fiCtlO H.'l 1 •■.rk in *i.v r.'uiuc .-tiiv-s during 2.-, estimated i.T r n American journal on tc.f: ba-sis r.r tr.---. a.s<-er'..air.ed <v« or <-or.st nation f,.r t:.<a nrit eleven o; the yfr*• r. -Moro insY.rminir. as eyifi<;ri'*s of thf; pr'Mrr.u p:-r\-.p'.mv or trie building ti"ici»> in the States. is the aVif-rr.f.T.u t' trational inereass as corn oared l'-" ~ss '• less than 20 per 'cent. The lucres.*: ie;ers about finally to rb;ne?.U: v.x-r.i s:.'id other oji-eratior.s. Thr.i- a eh arch sVwld '•■" a "s.cyscraper'' is qirite in scr-ordf. nr-<_- v.itn the fitness of things: but except, __ tor rise cross on its surnmic, there is iittK? i:i tiio illustration of Now "i crk a i.-itfeit akyssmpw. published in an American pn.per. to show th:rt ;t :s a. church a.!id not a commercial bu:irl;;vc;. It will stand in the \\ ashingto:! Height.) section of the city. :.o. !>y \(-a..son of its elevated po'-ition r.iid its ov/n height, the cross on toy/ will \/- the highest object in >?ew York. Ihe audi tori tim will seat 2200 persons, aiu' the building v.ill rJso lift an apartment house, housing at least .300 v.iil oost 4.000,000 dolLars, but is <?x]«:ted to be solf-supportinr; and prob.'ibij, prcfit-earning. A truly American idea.!

A big contract is about to commence for the construction at a cost of abnut £60,000 of a large suite of flats on a «ea!e unprecedented in Wellington, it not in the The building will be a seven-storeyed structure, and is to be erected in Aitken street, near the Parliament Buildings, and will be constructed on the most up-to-date 1 ines in ferro-concrete. The apartments will be sound proof, and the structure is to bo of the type that successfully resisted the recent earthquake in Japan. There will be twentyseven flats, ranging in price from £I9OO to £2300. Most of them will contain six roams, including a large reception room measuring 17ft bv 14ft, three bedrooms, hall, dining Pullman, kitchenette, ftnd balcony. Among many modern idea.? of construction and architecture is one that renders each flat entirely proof from sound from its neighbours. This is arrived at by the insertion between floor and ceiling of a patented form of sound-resisting blocks. At the main foyer entrance there will be what is known as the service room, where residents of the flats and their friends may be served with grills. In addition there will be grill rooms on each floor. The flats are designed for /homes for professional and business men and their families who are desirous of living as close to the city as possible. The purchaser will in each case be able to decide the choice of the interior finish and decorative scheme. The building will have a frontage of 190 feet to Aitken street, and the grounds are .to be

h j" ':s»v>. A complete ."-tern or teler/r,cr.<?s ar.d v-vo lifts will be installed. A r*<-c sariler. end promenade wtil c ro'-Ti,h;r<- iiX'.'l O'lC CE ICS *'-P 7i.fr imporr.mC'-j of or ram•lining the tops tr.d bottoms of doors moisten:- changes and ccn»r>l<in2. is pointed ont to home i■d or ard home orner h-y ttve Forest Prod". vt = I.abt-rav.rr. Th-us is a derail almost s:n:rsr=aliy ignored in spite fc.- r . t'r.r.t the average house has v: !•=•"•;: or.e doer whose stubbornness n be traced to no other cause except in undue v-rr.sitiven-ess to moisture el-f : r£<h in ilv* atmosnhere. Tne vulA* spot. the Achilles heel, of most is the ton ov*- bottom edge. S*?i!orented. ••'>ecfliise it doesn't = this is a j\in? at which the vood mav take on or lr.se moisture raold: v ard swrdi or shrink. As the er.d -rain of wood tbsnrhs moisture more raoidlv than the side grain, the «r,d= the ?.tiles 'the outside uprichtsi ore most liable to absorb mois.swell laterally. the door 4tfind the offending bulge is planed rfr. Then the heating plant is started, th- wooj dries cut and shrinks, and an is left between stile and jamb thar. hooks bad and lets in every vaz-r-Tit zephyr. Often the lock adds to th c - with little eccentricities thai vary with every moistnre change. THE JERRY BUILDER. A WORD OF COMMENDATION. In these far-orf days before the war tve heard funny stories twice nightly on any music-ha:.' stage a: the expense of the "Jerry Builder." Nowadays one seMoir. hears the expression ('says the London "Illustrated Carpenter and E;;iider"; . Is this because the joke has grown hoary v,:th age. or because we have been forced to realise that the passing ft? tlfe "Jerry Builder" is chiefly responsible for the shortage of about one million houses in this country at the nrc-sent time?

Who. actually was the "Jerry Builder •'' ?

Sur-h a question would be somewhat difficult to answer. Any speculative builder, whether his work was good, bad, or indifferent, was liable to be so fr-rmcQ. Actually, the term implied the "winder of. shoddy, unsubstantial houses; bet for the humourist' 3 purpose any man who produced a house at a low pri.-a was dubbed a "Jerry Builder." To-day we should probably hail such a man as a public benefactor.

The "'.Terry Builder" or speculative builder (call him what you will) was essentially a worker. To produce his houses at a low price he had of necessity to be a worker, not merely an employer of labour. In the majority of cases lie was a working man, and he continued to work at his trade for a considerable time after he commenced to build; usually until numerous demands on his time compelled him to lay down the trowel or the saw and devote his whole time to the of employer. Despite the fact that the houses so produced allowed little margin for architectural beauty or expensive workmanship, the pre-war "Jerry Builder" can to-day point to hundreds of thousands of families comfortably and securely housed in his "Jerry" creations. The man who bought his houses as an investment or for occupation as a rule found very little cause for complaint. Undoubtedly there are some aspects of pre-war house-building to which it is most desirable we should not return.

One of the principal reforms, however, is a matter, n<?t of construction, but of lay-out. The cramming of the very largest possible number of houses to "the acre must never again be permitted, even in the vital interests of economy. When we come to the question of general construction, the present appears to be hardly an opportune time for indulging in too big ideas in this direction.

This appears, however, to be the age of housing reformers. One can be excused for wondering what all the housing reformers were doing in pre-war days when a huge surplus of houses existed. Now, when we appear to be unable to obtain even a small percentage of the vast number of houses urgently needed, we have any number of wellintentioned reformers engaged in telling us what kind of house we ought to live in.

All the housing reformers, committees, and conferences in the world will never produce houses. We shall only get them in sufficient numbers and at a price within the reach of the ordinary working man when the ordinary working man in the form of the "Jerry Builder" is able to get back to business.

It is time we took off our hats to the old "Jerry Builder" and acknowledged him as a man who worked hard himself and provided work for others in producing an article of dire necessity—viz., a dwelling-house at a reasonable price. If the article so produced was not always entirely faultless, the public were as a rule as much to blame as the builder —perhaps more so. The houses built had to be sold at a price which the public was prepared to pay. If this price necessitated the production of a "Jerry House," we must acknowledge the existence of a "Jerrv Community."

The number of pre-war builders who paid for their enterprise and industry by landing in "Carey street" is proof of the fact that the builders' energies were devoted to the task of meeting their clients' pockets rather than to the making of big profits. "If people will not go to the bother of writing half a dozen lines when they enter into a contract they cannot expect much from the Court in seeking to prove a contract. ... I would require very cogent evidence before I could give judgment for a specific sum. . . . . I don't think I have ever found for a party in a verbal contract, because there are such a variety of circumstances in these matters. . . It is only, necessary to prepare a brief statement saying 'I agree,' sign it, and von have a contract. . . —Mr Justice Reed during the hearing of a contractor's claim in the Supreme Court at Wellington. Are you an honest firm? Such was the question asked of a prominent Gishorne drapery establishment recently. For the edification of the public it may be explained (says the Poverty Bay "Herald"} that a country resident had written for certain articles to be sent to her. She had enclosed the money to pay for the articles, hut had omitted to give her name and address. The next heard was when she wrote asking if the firm was honest and this time statins; W name,

MODERN ARCHITECTURE.

keynote of simplicity. The essential difference between the i'uiidins of to-dnv and that or last centurv lies in the comparative simplicity of modern designs, says an English. writer. To the material mind the cause of this simplicity is purely financial, but on examination it is quite possible that there are other and more delicate reasons. Admittedly, lack of cash has much to do with the matter, and with building costs as :hev are to-day. it is almost impossible to elaborate. In spite of this very solid reason, however, one feels that the matter does not end with it, and one is therefore led to search for less obtrusive causes. As has been shown by recent research, domestic building was originally of a verv crude and more than simple description. From this it progressed, in gradual stages, to the elaboorate treatment of the Middle Ages. On reflection one "will see that this advancement merely kept in line with that of the nation a3 a whole. As education, refiniment, science, and srt grew, so did the charcter of the country's building, until a zenith was reached.

Travelling facilities hitherto unknown brought about the Renaissance—directly or indirectly. The introduction of a Classical element into the country was the result. Tlje Jacobean and Georgian periods give birth to buildings typical of the times. And lastly came the Victorian, a period of ultra-refinment which bred narrowmindedness and caused the erection of dull, uni>eautiful structures reeking of formality and reserve.

Out of this period came great commercial enterprise, which increased the population of towns and introduced the rows of jerry-built villas peculiar to pre-war house building. They, in their turn, were typical of the nation's outlook, and were a concrete indication of the advancement of commercialism. They represented a struggle lietwee n tho refinement of the Middle Ages, the delicacy of the Renaissance, and the endeavour to keep pace with the general acceleration of life. The result of this was chaotic, and cr.ly the steadying influence of the war, coming at a crucial moment of the nation's life, brought about a saner and broader view. To-day we are combining the refinement of past centuries with a common sense and economy born of great privation and hardship, and from this has arisen the endeavour to build substantial and plainly beautiful buildings. The keynote of modern domestic architecture is undeniably simplicity. Very seldom do we encounter a design wherein debased Corinthian pilasters play an important part, where over-abundance of half-timber is rampant, or where a 150 ft super sittingroom is encircled by a 12in cornice. There are many other moderations. The nse of the formal sash window lias declined, and the less complicated and more cosy casement has increased in popularity, although there is much to be said for a good sash windowHeavily moulded and many-panelled doors have fjiven place to a plain but quite charming four or two panelled door, businesslike of appearance. Dust-catching skirting moulds, architraves, and picture rails have gone h-y, and the newel and balusters of the cottage stair no longer endeavour to imitate their aristocratic brethren of the baronial hall.

In fittings also simplicity is paramount. The very fact that the bu,iltin fittings are becoming standard points to this. The conventional hatstand. probably one of ' the most unbeautiful objects i.n existence, has given nlace to a neat, serviceable, and epaceooonomising row of pegs on a plain rail. Wardrobes and that quaint but impassible article the "tallboy" are supplanted by fixed clipboards—twice as presentable, twice as useful, and infinitely cheaper. Economy of plan is very noticeable. Simple and straightforward lines and concentration upon essentials rather than one mere ornamentation is typical. The modern designee, thinks rather of how to get his flues into one stack and eliminate an unnecessary yard of passageway than the impression the parlour fireplace will make 011 the lady next door! Although British building, as far as design is concerned, has launched upon a new and great era, that old bugbear, cash, is likely to retard its progress. If we could remove this allpowerful impediment, in which one must include labour troubles, rings, and such-like abominations, the domestic builder would about reach his Utopia.

FURNITURE MADE FROM DOMINION TIMBERS.

Mad© for use and exceedingly hard wear, there are on view, at the premises of the D.I.C. in Wellington, some very fine specimens of furniture made for the New Zealand Court at the British Empire Exhibition (says the "New Zealand Times"). They are essentially Dominion products, for the timber is native-grown, the skins used in the puholstery are the product of New Zealand tanneries, and the labour, of course, is an example of what skilled furniture-makers in the Dominion can do, in woodwork, polishing, and upholstering. The maker is Mr James Kircher, 01 Wellington, and the shipment consists of 99 pieces, made to the order of the New Zealand Government. It comprises a number of settles, which wiu probably be used in the corridors of the New ealand Court, easy chairs and large settees, and a number of small chairs similar to those used in din-ing-rooms, made in two designs. The timber used is heart ot red pine, and in the case of the easy chairs the framework is inlaid with puriri, with very pleasing effect. The upholstering i 3 an example or first-class work, and will not suffer uy comparison with Home products. Except for the settles, the furniture ■will be used in the reception-room in the New Zealand section at the Exhibition. It is all substantially made, and a credit to the craft. It is to be shipped in the course of a few days with other exhibits for the Exhibition.

AMERICAN SIDELIGHTS.

7500-TON BUILDING MOVED, (rxoit 01™ own coassaroHTHsxr.) SAX FRANCTSOO, February 3. American engineers prido themselves upon their marvellous feats of changing tho locale of largo bui.dings that happen to mar tho lajuliscape wul have to give way to mow architectural compositions, und roses nro on record where immense edifices havo been moved considerable distance, such f.s foV instance, the Commercial School of Francisco, which a few years ago was moved from Van Ness avenue to Grove street to make way for San Francisco's magnificent Civic Centre. Tins building, ox steel frame and brick and terra cot to. exterior, was moved some quarter of a mile or more without a crack in the ceilings. In Chicago another wonderful moving ieat has just been accomplished when a seven-storey 7500-ton brick building was moved eighty-five feet, with its elevator (lift), light and telephone service intact and while its 01tices were open to tenants who found it necessarv to enter. The Illinois Central Railway Company, in its terminal improvements now" being made, was presented with the alternative of dismantling the building or moving it. The structure was erected about thirty years a £°j hut it was in such excellent condition the latter course was taken. The actual moving was accomplished in twenty-four hours, but it required three months' preparations. W hat is believed to be an outstanding engineering feat was described by Hugo Filippi, who superintended the work. ; 'Twenty-three tracks, consisting of four or more rails each and extending completely under the building ana over the foundation at its new site, were used," he said. "The tracks were placed five to eight feet apart and 2COO steel rollers were spaced about twelve inches. Six hundred thousand board feet of timber was used for cribbing purposes preliminary to jacking up the building and placing it on the rollers. "Four capstans, each operated by two horses, were employed as motiive power." "From each capstan a lead line of three-fourths inch steel wire cable was carried down to and through a. series of 25 blocks, 12 of which were moveable and attached to the building, and 13 of which were fixed and anchored to 20-foot steel rails driven about 15 feet in£o the ground and braced against the new concrete foundation. The average speed of moving was four feet per hour. The building also was turned slightly and six and one-quarter inches in a westerly direction, arcomnlished by slightly skewing the rollers."

BUILDING PERMITS.

A MARKED INCREASE,

Building permits issued by • the Christchurch City Council for the month of February show a marked increase on those for the same period of last vear.

The following are comparative tables for the months of February, 1923, and 1924:

February, 1924,

Ward. Value. Pees. No. 3 £ s. £ s. Inner area .. 15,475 0 15 J) 6 Outer area .. 4,330 0 12 0 9 St." Albans .. 22,945 0 70 5 31 Sydenham .. 17,170 0 59 0 27 Linwood .. 3,758 0 15 0 11 Spreydon .. 5,793 0 21 0 13 Woolston .. 5,982 0 20 0 10 Tota's ... £75,453 0 £212 15 107 February, 1923. Ward. Value Fees. No. £ 8. £ s. Inner area 9,350 0 17 10 5 Outer area — 5,963 0 21 0 11 St. AlbanB .. 11,337 0 36 10 18 Sydenham .. 5,268 0 19 10 13 Linwood 6.603 0 22 0 12 Spreydon 5,202 0 17 10 9 Woolston .. 2,180 0 7 10 6 Totals .. £45,903 0 £141 10 74