A concept of safety and harmony

Press, 11 December 1981, Page 14

A concept of safety and harmony

It will not stand out against the Wellington skyline — and may even blend too well into the landscape to draw more than a passing glance when completed in June next year — but the. new William Clayton Building is an interesting one. It has been designed by architects of the Wellington district office of the Ministry of Works and Development

and will accommodate all the 450 staff of the district office now housed in eight different premises. The new building is a lowrise, open-plan, reinforced concrete office block of three * floors and a basement. With a gross area of 11,783 square metres the building occupies almost the whole of its site alongside the motorway at the junction of Molesworth

Street and Tinakori Road. There is no parking at ground level but the basement can hold up to 40 cars, and there is extensive storage space. . Out of sight, too, are the structural features that give the building its revolutionary concept — a system of onemetre square rubber blocks on which the columns and

foundations rest to absorb earthquake shock waves. “Because of its advanced seismic design we regard this as the safest building in New Zealand and possibly in the world, because we don’t know of the exact same system being used anywhere else. But we’re not looking for an earthquake to prove anything.” says Mr Eric

Dinsdale, district architect for the Ministry. The Ministry’s architects have put careful thought into planning other aspects of their building — particularly from the human standpoint. “From the purely working point of view it is very desirable to have the whole district team, which includes a wide range of professions and occupations, all together

in fairly close communion,” says Mr Dinsdale. “We think .we’ve now attained the ultimate in the open planning concept. Sound deadening partitions up to six feet high will allow privacy for concentration but everyone will be handy for discussions.” The partitions can be moved at will and because there is a cost saving in not

having floor-to-ceiling partitions, the occupants will be provided with good quality carpeting and furniture. Working conditions will be enhanced by tinted double glazing to reduce heat loss and provide insulation from city and motorway noises. Each floor gives way to wide decking round some sides of the building so that in good weather staff can eat their lunch outside.

Solar heating panels on the roof will provide hot water for the kitchen and handbasins.

Building heating will come from six gasfired boilers in a boiler house on the roof so that they can be cut off progressively as the day warms up and thereby allow a more efficient use of fuel and mechanical equipment. The building is not air conditioned. Not only do Ministry architects consider this is not climatically necessary in Wellington, but they also believe that people like to be able to open windows, and are more likely to catch colds from recirculated air. Hot air in winter and cool air in summer can be ducted through the building from a central core by a forced ventilation system, but there will also be the usual wall convector heaters.

Furniture which members of the staff will take with them from present premises will be refurbished and only modern style furniture will be retained. Other furniture will be specially designed for the public rooms.

The building has been named after W'illiam Henry Clayton, the first government architect, who held office from 1869 to 1877.

The contract for the $5Va million building was let in 1978. When it is finished next year it is expected that the cost will have risen to about $8.6 million, mostly because of inflation.

The footpath along the side of the building flanking the motorway will link the Fitzherbert Gardens with the city walkway system. It will be possible to walk all the way into the city along this pedestrian way.