Instead Of Flats

Press, Volume XCVII, Issue 28529, 7 March 1958, Page 16

Instead Of Flats

The Wellington Architectural Centre has been promoting sev. eral plans for closer settlement Convinced that multi-storeyed flats are wanted by comparatively few people in New Zealand, the centre has advocated several lay. outs for small houses which by their compact arrangement avoid waste of land but retain the essential garden plot and complete privacy.

One of the proposals is for the grouping of units around a fullyenclosed courtyard not unlike that in the Housing Division’s atrium flats proposal. Another plan is for the building of connected units in terraces with communal access through a lane at the back and common play area. These layouts were part of a practical test in design on a hill, side site near Wellington. By a combination of compact groups of houses it was found that on a 19-acre site, which under the normal subdivision accommodate only 170 p*ersons, 470 persons could be housed.

Work is progressing at Wainoni pn another plan for high density housing promoted by the State. This is for two semidetached flats on 60ft wide sections. The units have ground and first-floor accommodation and each have three bedrooms.

Last year’s Ministry of Works statement to the House of Repretatives suggested that the pro* portion of multi-unit dwellings might constitute 33 1-3 per cent, of the State housing programme. It also noted that each unit had its own garden, but one difficulty which was still unsolved was that some local bodies would not approve subdivision into separate ownerships. Title could not therefore be obtained. This meant that multi-units were for rental purposes only. With the improved standard of house planning and the firmer control on building standards, the worst features of the terrace house which duplicates the design of the single unit can be avoided. The terrace style of housing is seldom seen in New Zealand, though it is common in Britain and is growing in popularity on the Continent. The obvious advantage is the economy both in land and building costs. Because of these savings, greater attention can be given to design and once a really good plan is found it is worth repeating. Like the State’s atrium flats proposal, and other proposals for high density Rousing, the terrace house concedes the demand for an individual garden.