Exhibition House At Fair Has Novel Features

Press, Volume C, Issue 29599, 23 August 1961, Page 17

Exhibition House At Fair Has Novel Features

An exhibition house on display at the New Zealand Industries Fair is likely to be the most visited dwelling in New Zealand this week. The house, which was built in 14 days, has already been seen by thousands of visitors to the fair since it was opened to the public. Containing many laboursaving features, the house is constructed of precast, prestressed concrete units to reduce maintenance. Only two men with a light crane are needed to place the wall units and concrete spandrel beams, which were made in five days, into position. Each wall panel is fabricated in an outer and inner layer of precast, prestressed concrete. These units are then bolted together to form a concrete panel cavity which has a foam plastic filling for insulation.

Inside the house all spaces are inter-connected and there is clear lighting above the partitions and in between the laminated beams which form the ceiling. Floor heating can be provided if required. A central kitchen with a low-window view on to a big play veranda is linked to a living-cum-playroom as well as to the lounge. The kitchen is also linked to a lounge by doors and a servery flap which when folded down makes a breakfast bar.

Connected with the main living area are two children’s bedrooms, a main bedroom, and a utility room. The house was designed by a member of the New Zealand Institute of Architects to show the possibilities modem planning, can offer to the home-seeker. The prestressed wall panels make it possible for the design of the house to be varied for an extension of the exterior on any axis. The interior partitions also can be altered to provide a wide choice of pre-planned space. This system of using precast cavity panels already prestressed on the site by a high tensile steel cable, is expected to have an important application for low-cost multiple housing units in New Zealand. Developed by a Christchurch civil engineer, Mr W. Lovell-Smith, the system has not been used before in New Zealand, but has been used extensively, and with considerable success, in the construction of schools in Europe.