STANDARDISATION IN BUILDING

Press, Volume LXXXI, Issue 24503, 28 February 1945, Page 8

STANDARDISATION IN BUILDING

—— TREND CRITICISED AT CONFERENCE NEEDS OTHER THAN HOUSES (P A) GISBORNE, February 27., Disagreement with the viewpoint that, housing will bethe only means of employment for builders fors 9 me time to come, and a warning against the danger of those connected with the industry falling into a rut and beheving that: standardisation to produce cheap ‘houses was in the best interests of-the community, was expressed by Mr S. H. E Townshend in his presidential address at the opening of the conference of the;Builders’ and Contractors Federation to-day. , He pointed out that housing construction was still seriously retarded by lack of materials, and manpower, and suggested that other avenues m which the building industry should be engaged besides housing were in the erection of farm'buildings and Committees set up m the industry were not conducive to imaginative ideas or planning by the individual, and he doubted whether they were in the interests of the industry or the State. Discussing standardisation. in house building. Mr Townshend said it should not be the industry’s sole desire to follow the line of least resistance to make everything easy for the builder, as this would result in a lessening of selfreliance. Mr Townshend said that people ought not to suffer restrictions and uniformity of supplies once an orderly change-over to a peace-time footing had been achieved.