A START ON THE CIVIC CENTRE

Evening Post, Volume CXXXIV, Issue 39, 14 August 1942, Page 4

A START ON THE CIVIC CENTRE

Temporary buildings constructed to meet an emergency have a habit of becoming permanent, and very often a permanent eyesore. Wellington has already had some experience of this, and the general appearance of the city has suffered. The decision pf the City Council to commence without delay' the construction of a permanent .building on vacant land at the back of the Town Hall, to form part of the long-envisaged civic centre, is therefore to be commended. Labour and materials are to be made available by the Commissioner of Defence Construction, who has agreed that it is sounder policy to construct a new building than to waste time, effort, and money on the provision of temporary accommodation. The cost of the new building, which iS :to be met in part from earthquake j insurance, should not be excessive, as the modern tendency in architecture .. is .'; to , concentrate : on the

utilitarian rather than the ornate. So long as the new ..building provides the accommodation and facilities that arc needed, and conforms in design to the genera! idea of, the proposed civic centre, it should meet all. requirements. It is to be regretted that some of the facilities at the Public Library will be temporarily unavailable, in order to accommo* date City Council staff, but in the circumstances that cannot very well be avoided.