MODERN BUILDINGS

Evening Post, Volume CXXIII, Issue 28, 3 February 1937, Page 12

MODERN BUILDINGS

AUSTRALIAN TRENDS

LATEST IN HOSPITALS

ARCHITECT'S VISIT

Qn his three months' visit to'; Australia, from which he returned by the Maunganui today, Mr. V. P. Haughton, a Wellington architect, found much of interest in modern building trends in New South Wales and Victoria, and in an interview with a "Post" reporter he dealt with a number of the new features he saw. The principal reason for Mr. Haughton's trip was to investigate the latest developments in hospital planning, lay-out, and equipment. The single-block type of hospital, as against the old pavilion system of planning, was favoured in both Victoria and New South Wales, he said, and there was no doubt that the block principle had everything in its favour.

Besides, visiting many hospitals in New South Wales and Victoria, Mr. Haughton inspected many of the latest commercial and industrial buildings in both States, among those in the first category being banking houses, both city and provincial, department stores, office buildings, wool stores, cafes, etc. It was of interest to note the progress and development taking place in the more modern buildings.

It was now generally accepted, said Mr. Haughton, that a country's financial position could be gauged fairly accurately by the rise and fall in its building activity. Judged by this standard alone, it was quite apparent that Australia's finances were at present in a very satisfactory condition, and that the business community had every confidence in the country's future. Last year in Melbourne alone the expenditure on new buildings, alterations, etc., was otver seven million pounds,. a figure almost equal to the pre-depression period. This year ■it was expected that this sum would -be exceeded. CHANGES IN SYDNEY, < Sydney already had many fine buildings, and'at the present time one saw on every hand old buildings in the metropolitan area being demolished and the sites prepared for larger and more up-to-date structures, the aggregate cost of which would run into many millions of pounds. Among the new buildings under construction or contemplated in the near future were the new Palaza Hotel, a department store for David Jones, the Mutual Life and Citizens' building, and the new law courts. The Palaza Hotel, which was a 13-storey block facing Wynyard Street Station, would, when completed, be one of the largest and most modern hotels in 'Australia arid New Zealand. David Jones's new store, the site for which was now being excavated, would involve, it was reported, an expenditure of over a million pounds, and the new Mutual Life building, the plans for which were now being prepared, was to cost a quarter of a million, and half a million was to be expended on the new law courts. Greater comfort for staff and tenants was a feature of the latest bulidings, many of which were now equipped with mechanical ventilation and complete air-conditioning installations, which embodied both heating and refrigeration plants. By means of the latter the atmospheric temperature within a building so equipped was controlled and kept ; uniform, no matter how it fluctuated outside. To appreciate the effect of this, one only had to experience one* of Sydney's hot, humid days under the old and new conditions. HOSPITAL DESIGNS. j In hospital ' architecture, said Mr. Haughton, while Victoria had several fine examples of the modern hospital, New South Wales had not made the same progress in this sphere of building, Gloucester House, the new intermediate wing at the Royal Prince Alfred, being the only example worthy of special mention. In both States those responsible for the future development of hospital building favoured the single-block type, as against the old pavilion system of planning, with the grouping of all departments, services, etc., as best suited to their respective requirements to produce efficiency in working and economy in administration. From his inspection of the institutions planned on the ' block principle, Mr. Haughton's view is that there can be no doubt that it has everything in its favour. "On entering one of these modern hospitals," said Mr. Haughton, "one familiar with the old order of things cannot help but notice the complete absence of things institutional, so apparent in our older type hospitals. Large wards have now given place to smaller; insipid white walls and ceilings are now delicately coloured, in addition to which windows are no longer bare openings in walls but are draped with colourful curtainings in harmony with the general fo)our scheme, the whole combining to produce a bright and cheerful atmosphere which cannot help but have a beneficial effect on staff and patients alike. "Utility and ward sterilising rooms are well arranged and efficiently equipped; the old bed-pan sinks are no ' longer in evidence, having been discarded in favour of the more modern enclosed washer recessed into the walls. Operating and sterilising rooms, together with kitchens and other departments, have also received due consid- ■ eration and the attention necessary to meet modern requirements. "Externally the trend in design has I been influenced by the latest types of Continental architectures, being : plain and severe." Altogether, the modern hospital, as ' tvnified by those inspected in Austra--1 ifa was a joy to behold and, both he and Dr. Thorne, •ledical superintendent of the Wellington Hospital, were reliably informed, was equal to those ' of a similar size anywhere in the world.