MUCH ACTIVITY

Evening Post, Volume CXXVII, Issue 88, 15 April 1939, Page 13

MUCH ACTIVITY

CITY BUILDING

SOME BIG ADDITIONS

NUMBER IN HAND

In recent years building activity and alterations to existing buildings have been, so' extensive .in Wellington that ttie appearance, of the city has changed very considerably. There is now, in fact,, a new skyline. But, even though so much has been done, there is at the present time a great volume of work in hand, and other big Jobs are scheduled. By far the biggest job still in hand in Wellington is the construction of the buildings at Rongotai for the National Centennial Exhibition. But apart from the Exhibition buildings, the houses being built under the State housing scheme, also, private dwellings, blocks of fiats, and factory premises, there is a very considerable volume of building construction in hand in the city area and some of the buildings aire well oh the way towards completion. So much is under way and so great is the area in which this work is proceeding that it is a difficult task to sit down and make a list of it all.

The building which is perhaps most in the public eye at present is that which is being erected on the site previously occupied by the old Central Hotel at the corner of Hunter Street and Lambton Quay for the Mutual Life and Citizens' Assurance Co. These new premises, of nine storeys in reinforced concrete, will add still further to the appearance of the Lambton Quay end of Featherston Street, already greatly improved by new buildings which have gone up there in recent years. Very good progress has been, made with the construction of this big building, six floors already having been completed. .

Across the way from the new M.L.C. building,''in Featherston Street, the| demolition of Baker's Building, which j stood on the corner of Featherston j Street and Hunter Street, is practically completed, and the Royal Insurance Building next door is also being demolished. On this site when it is cleared considerable, extension is to be made to the A.M.P. Building. APPEARANCE ALTERED. Further down Featherston Street still, near the Railway Station, the extensive alterations to the building formerly occupied by the . Railway/ Department and where the headquarters of the: Army, Navy, and Air Force are now located, are nearing completion.' The heavy overhanging stone work has been removed, the brick work has been polished up, and the building faced with cream-coloured cement, similar to that which was used to decorate the Customs Building when alterations were carried out there. At the rear of this building the old railway goods shed is being demolished, and at the Railway Station itself an addition is being made to one wing to enlarge the dining-room, and cafeteria accommodation.

"Alsa in this vicinity alterations are being carried out to the two-storeyed brick building in Whitmore Street formerly occupied by the New Zealand Academy of Fine Arts, and down on Aotea Quay the Wellington Harbour Board faasf.a modern reinforced conc'refe storage' shed under construction.

There is: no .activity at the .present time -on the site of the eight-storey Government offices block. in Stout Street. ' The' foundations are in and have been for a considerable time now and the huge steel frame was completed earlier this year. There remains the final contract for the completion of the building, which has not yet been let. '■■ But. alongside, nearer Lambton Quay, where stood the Arcadia Hotel until a few weeks ago, the site is being prepared for a big addition to the State Fire Insurance Building. ,

Behind Parliament House the old wooden Museum building is no more. There Broadcasting House is to be built, and already some preliminary excavation work has been done. Further along, in Wellington Terrace, new premises for, the "New Zealand Free Lance" are bearing completion. This is a three-storey building, a feature of which is its considerable depth. It is hoped that the building will be ready in. from six. weeks' to two months' time. NEW] PUBLIC LIBRARY. In Boulcott Street, behind the "Evening Post" buildings, a big reinforced concrete store is being built for Messrs"; Blundell Bros., Ltd., and in Mercer Street the new Public Library building," a.reinforced concrete structure, is in an advanced stage of construction. It is estimated- that the building work will" be finished about the end of August, or early in September". The area in front of this building is to be turfed and otherwise made attractive, and when finished it should be a very popular centre in the heart of the city. Across the way from the library building, in Mercer • Street, work is proceeding on the four-storey addition at the rear of the Town Hall to provide more office accommodation for the staff of the City Treasury Department. "The new Government dental clinic, a big building. in reinforced concrete in Upper Willis Street, is another job which is well on the way towards completion. There are five storeys at the back and four in the front, and the only construction work remaining to be done there is the building of two pent houses. A fair amount of. interior •work has been done, but it will probably be four or five months before the building is finished. . ' I The Wellington Education Board is building new -■ offices in Abel Smith Street—a reinforced. concrete building of three storeys, but this is in the early stages of construction, the work not having got beyond the foundation stages yet. In Emmett Street the new Newtown School will be finished in about a month's time, and it is expected that the new manual training school at Miramar South, a one-floor wooden structure, will be ready in the course of a few days.

In Taranaki Street big steel-frame premises for car servicing are being built for Avery Motors, Ltd. At the foot of Majoribanks Street the old wooden City Hotel is to come down to make way for a more modern hotel. Further along Clyde Quay finishing work is being done to a big threestoreyed block of modern flats. I INTERESTING STONE WORK. Another big- job in this part of the \ city is the new building being erected on part of the Te Aro reclamation near Clyde Quay Wharf for the Post and Telegraph Department. It is a five' storey structure and when completed rt will be one of the largest departmental buildings in Wellington. It is to provide accommodation on the ground floor for the line depot and' fault men, and the remaining floors j will be occupied by the staffs of the I accounts' branch. On a splendid site tHis building will add greatly to the appearance of the surrounding area. Here, too, work is well advanced, and it is anticipated that everything will be finished about October. An interesting feature of the work being done there at the present time is the manufacture of pre-cast stone with which I the exterior is to be embellished, from1

the ground level to the window sills on the first floor. The blocks are beautifully made, and when placed in position it is very difficult to. detect that they are not of actual sandstone. An ingenious, though simple, method is being employed to turn out the blocks with a smooth face. Instead of adopting the pressed method, the contractor, Mr. A. Lammon, is subjecting the coloured cement mixture to vibration. The moulds are placed on a table, which is vibrated by a shaft driven by an electric motor. This method was devised by Mr. Laramon's son, and has proved wonderfully efficient, removing the air bubbles and surplus water and giving the face of the slabs a smooth, even surface. - Much of this artificial stone already is in position, • and it looks most attractive.