NEW HALL FOR SCHOOL

Press, Volume XCV, Issue 28250, 11 April 1957, Page 19

NEW HALL FOR SCHOOL

Christchurch West

Progress

The Christchurch West High School’s attractively-sited assembly hall now has the main walls half completed. Work is being pushed ahead to get the roof on before the worst of the winter so that progress will not be interrupted. The school has hopes that it will be able to hold the prize-giving ceremony in December in the hall even if there is some work still to be done. Even the early stages of construction show the appeal of the site. At the head of the school’s tree-lined main drive, the hall will have a magnificent approach and yet it will be readily accessible from the main school buildings immediately to the west and from the sports grounds. In the meantime the hall will serve also as a gymnasium, but the longterm plans envisage a separate gymnasium behind the hall and beyond that fine swimming baths. The auditorium of the hall measures 50ft by 70ft and the stage will be 50ft by 20ft. The proscenium will be groove-fin-ished plywood, outlined in white, and the rest of the hall will be panelled in Japanese sen plywood, which has a honey-coloured finish. The ceiling will follow the line of the pitched roof, thus giving extra height—2sft at the apex and 17ft at the walls. The exposed rafters will be covered in acoustic tiles. Changing Rooms Basically the hall is of reinforced concrete, but between the main pillars the exterior walls will have brick veneer panels. Along the wfiole east side there will be a flat-roofed annex containing separate sports changing rooms, showers, and other conveniences for boys and girls. Theatrical dressing rooms will flank the stage. A kitchen, gymnasium store, and offices for instructors will be placed near the main entrance.

The entrance foyer will be largely glazed, giving a fitting centre of interest from the entrance drive and an equally arresting vista on leaving as it will look out on the schools’ treestudded grounds and the broad expanse of South Hagley Park.