House To Be Built For Ambassador

Press, Volume CVIII, Issue 31862, 14 December 1968, Page 1

House To Be Built For Ambassador

(New Zealand Press Association) WELLINGTON, December 13. A contract had been let for the construction of an official Tokyo residence for the New Zealand Ambassador to Japan, the Prime Minister (Mr Holyoake) said today. A new chancery, and the residence, would be built by the Shiraishi Construction Company.

The buildings were expected to be completed at the end of next year, Mr Holyoake said. Quarters for four single officers were included in the chancery building, and allowance had been made for growth to cater for New Zealand's rapidly-expanding relations with Japan. The .possibilities of using New Zealand materials in the new buildings would be examined. Mr Holyoake said the proceeds of the sale of the existing property were expected to pay for a substantial proportion of the cost of the new buildings. The two buildings have been designed by Mr Asabuki, who according to Mr Holyoake is a distinguished architect, trained at Cambridge University. Among his work in Tokyo are designs for the embassies of Belgium, Burma, Cambodia, India and Malaysia. The buildings are of mod-

ern, functional design in fer-ro-concrete, and will be placed on a site of little more than an acre in the Kami-yama-Cho district of Tokyo. The site was bought by the New Zealand Government in, 1965, Mr Holyoake said.