Architects Suggest Town Hall Completion In 1971

Press, Volume CVI, Issue 31115, 19 July 1966, Page 1

Architects Suggest Town Hall Completion In 1971

A schedule for the Town Hall leading up to a contract building period of three years from October, 1968, was presented to the City Council last evening by the architects, Messrs Warren and Mahoney.

They were commissioned by the council to prepare working drawings; and one of the partners was also authorised to go overseas, not with any major alteration of the winning design in mind, but primarily to study the acoustics problem on which the town hall committee said there was little up-to-date information in New Zealand.

The council also agreed to make a further preliminary application to the Building Programmer for a priority for the Town Hall project.

The architects gav" the following programme:— Preparation of working drawings and specifications: July, 1966, to February, 1968. Preparation of schedules of quantities: February, 1968, to July, 1968. Tendering period: July, 1968, to September, 1968. Contract building period: October, 1968, to October, 1971. “It seems obvious from this preliminary report that a five-year period is inevitable before the Town Hall is available for use, assuming no delay in instructing working drawings to be prepared,” the committee said. Overseas Study On the overseas trip, tLe committee said Mr R. C. Muston, the professional adviser for the architectural competition, had sent a letter he received from Mr A. H. Marshall, of the University of Southampton, who was the acoustics consultant. He strongly recommended that

the winning architect should visit overseas countries to • study some of the acoustics design problems. The main purpose of a short overseas trip by one of the architects would be to have full discussions with Mr Marshall, to investigate acoustics problems, to obtain all possible information on technical matters such as stage lighting, stage equipment, theatre setting, pipe organs, floor coverings, finishing materials and furnishings, the committee said. The trip would not prolong the period of working drawings, but shorten it by resulting in much information being collected at one rime early in the programme. The architects had offered to pay accommodation costs; and on the committee’s recommendation the council agreed to pay economy air fares for one member of the firm to visit Europe and North America. The committee recalled that last December the

Building Programmer had been told the approximate date a tender would be let. He was also told there would be considerable disappointment if the scheme had to be deferred because of Government restrictions on building, and a preliminary application was made for allocation of a priority. A reply said it was not the policy of the building programming advisory committee to consider, even as a preliminary application, projects not scheduled to start within 12 months or so from the application. The programmer suggested that the application should be submitted again later, together with an estimate of costs.

Notwithstanding that comment, the committee considered that the Town Hall should be kept under review and suggested another preliminary application for a priority.

As consultants for the architects, the council agreed to the following appointments suggested by the architects: structural and civil engineering. Mr I. L. Holmes; mechanical services, Maindonald and associates; electrical engineering and theatrical lighting, Page and Heine; quantity surveying, Russell Drysdale and Thomas. An approach would be made to Mr Marshall on the best procedure to adopt on the appointment of an acoustics consultant, the committee said.

A letter from Professor G. Stephenson, of Perth, who was engaged to recommend a site for the town hall, said: “You have been well served by your competition. The city will be proud of its town hall and exceedingly well served by the whole complex when it is completed. The spirit of the 1860 s is recaptured in the new architecture.” It was vital that the council should proceed to acquire the rest of the land needed in the area, even if the Civic Centre was not proceeded with for years after the Town Hall, Cr. P. J. Skellerup said.