EXTRA STOREY

Evening Post, Volume CXXI, Issue 36, 12 February 1936, Page 12

EXTRA STOREY

CENTRAL POST OFFICE

AREA OF 15,000 SQUARE FEET

Good progress has been made by the contractor, Mr. W. Hodges, with the erection of a supplementary fifth storey in wood on the roof of the Central Post Office at Wellington. The Post Office block consists of the new and the old buildings. It is on the roof of the newer building, the main frontage of which is on Featherston Street, that the wooden structure is being built. A start was made with the work about the middle of last October, and it is anticipated that it will be completed about the end of next month.

The reason for the addition is to provide extra accommodation, and the impression gained from an inspection of the work this morning was that those whom the new quarters are to house should be very comfortable. They should not be troubled by noise and dust. In addition, the occupants of the new tOD floor will have the advantage of all the sunshine there is, and for those fortunate enough to be located in the eastern section an excellent view of the harbour will be obtainable, although, of course, looking at the harbour and ships passing to and fro is something which may perhaps be restricted by regulation XYZ or something of that kind.

Not a great deal of the new storey can be seen from Featherston Street. It might be described as being tucked away very neatly, but a visit to the roof shows that it is far from being a pokey structure. A sft parapet surrounding what until now has been the roof hides the new section of the building from the street.

The extra quarters cover an area of 15,000 square feet, and when the flooring is down the height from the floor to the ceiling will be lift. The question has been raised as to whether this additional height will not cause a viewof the clock in the tower of the old building to be blocked out from Wellington Terrace, but the contractor stated today that he did not think there would be any difficulty in this connection. When in Wellington Terrace recently he had been able to see the clock without any trouble.

Besides the construction of the supplementary storey, the contract also involved the demolition of the two dome towers at the corners of the roof on the Featherston Street side of the building, and also other stone work. These towers were built of great blocks of Nelson granite. The two towers have been removed and also ornamental pediments, which were razed to the level of the stone parapet.

The under-structure of the new storey is bolted to the old roof in a very slid way. Practically all the framework is up and work is proceeding on the roof. Not a great deal of subdividing will be required inside, as the plans, with one or two exceptions, provide for large offices. The lift service on the Featherston Street side of the building is to be extended to the new offices, and this requires the construction of a new lift-house.

Apart from providing the additional accommodation required, the neve storey will result in an improvement in another direction —it will overcomp trouble experienced with the concrete rof on which it is being constructed.