Twelve-Sided Design Of New Napier Tavern

Press, Volume CVII, Issue 31412, 4 July 1967, Page 7

Twelve-Sided Design Of New Napier Tavern

“The Press” Special Service NAPIER, July 3. The new Ahuriri Tavern at Napier features a “floating” roof and a dodecagonal (12sided) design. The building is erected around a central pillar circled by a lighthouse-type stairway to provide access to the bar floors.

Steel hawsers from the central pillar to the surrounding arms are the only support for the roof. Shorter hawsers on the outer edge hold the roof down. This unusual construction enables the main floor space to be built without any obstructing pillars. Although actually 12-sided the building appears almost circular and provides for three main bars divided by moveable partitions to provide conversion to one bar, which are served from the centre Over this is the “Crows Nest” bar, making full use of what would otherwise be wasted space. The top section of the roof over the “Crows Nest” is glazed and the whole of the upper section of the main bars, at present partly blocked off with temporary plywood panels, will be glazed, providing a view of the inner harbour area including the marina being built in the old wharf area. The ground floor, apart

from a bottle store and the manager’s office, is used for storage and for toilet facilities, plus the central heating plant. Another feature of the construction is that the entire woodwork is in Oregon pine which will be stained to provide the finished interior.