A WELL-PLANNED INSTITUTION

Evening Star, Issue 20784, 5 May 1931, Page 2

A WELL-PLANNED INSTITUTION

DUNEDIN’S NEW FJRE STATION CONTRACTORS COMPLETE THEIR TASK From every point of view the Dunedin Fire Brigade’s new home at the corner of St. Andrew and Castle streets is undoubtedly the most up-to-date and best planned institution of its kind in the dominion. The large army of tradesmen which has been kept engaged on the building for the past twelve months has now vacated the premises, and the contractors (Messrs G. Lawrence and Co.) and the architects (.Messrs Maudeno and Fraser) are handing over the building to the Dunedin Fire Board this week. An inspection of the building at this slage provides convincing evidence that the board, in conjunction with the architects, has given every consideration to the general well-being of the brigade. Every modern convenience has been installed in the firemen’s residential quarters, and these factors, combined with the excellent lay-out and design of Hie homes, provide the maximum of comfort for the staff. MARRIED MEN’S RESIDENCES. The married men’s quarters offer five rooms, comprising-three bedrooms, a sitting room, a kitchen-living room, plus a well-appointed bathroom and a modern laundry. In the bright and cheery kitchen-liv-ing room, which is the most important from the woman’s point of view, there is to be found a number of appointments which should be found in every modern home. The most striking feature is the terra/.zo-siabbed open fireplace, with a saddle-back boiler grate for water-heating purposes in the winter time. The red-tinted terrazzo blends nicely with the general colour scheme of the room, which has a dado in cement plaster enamelled to tone in with the terrazzo, while above the glossy-finished dado the walls arc smoothly finished with a plain plaster, calsomined in cream. The fibrous plaster ceiling is also calsomined in cream, thus giving the room an atmosphere of warmth and refinement. While the hot water service will be maintained during the winter months by the boiler grate, the supply will be furnished in the summer months by means of an electric element which is fitted to the cylinder. Cooking will be done by a modern gas range, while a wooden sinktop with a terrazzo back is conveniently situated to the cupboards and an air-cooled meat safe. A feature which should make a direct appeal to the housewife is the ample cupboard accommodation, which comprises an abundance of drawers and bins, thus eliminating the necessity of erecting shelves for the accommodation of kitchen utensils and other household necessities.

flight olf the main entrance vestibule is a sitting room of reasonable proportions, a feature of which is flic wollchosen wallpapers and a handsomely tiled fireplace. The ground lloor also accommodates the laundry, which adjoins the kitchen-living room, and which is fitted with a gas copper, concrete tubs, and a coal bin.

immediately one begins to mount tlie stairway to the upper door one is struck by the line joinery work in the walls ol' the stairway and the balls. New Zealand rimu lias been used, and tbe beautiful figure of ibis timber bas been boldly brought out by a walnut stain. At the bead of the stairway is situated a cosy bathroom and the lavatory, tbe walls of which are, covered with Sanitas wallpaper. Tbe bedrooms are decorated with wallpapers in Empire style, while each room features a built-in wal’d robe, also constructed of figured rimu. Altogether there arc nine of these five-roomed residences, with one bouse of sis rooms for the member , with the largest family. SLIGHTLY SUPERIOR. Tbe deputy-superintendent's and superintendent's quarters arc similar in their fittings to tbe_ married quarters, though several additional advantages make them slightly superior, A striking feature ol the sitting room of the superiuteudeut’s house is the provision that has been made for heating purposes, fn addition to a large open fireplace, there is an electric _ ping and also a steam radiator, ’ widen is part of tho central heating system of the building. Their bathrooms arc similar to the married men’s quarters in that a shower screen has been provided, while all the fittings, which include a chromium-plated mixer lor shower, arc all chromium plated. A tiled back is also fitted behind the wash-hand basin. Leading off every fireman’s bedroom is a balcony fitted with a sliding pole in case of an alarm. Before leaving tho larger residences reference should he made to the beautiful terrazzo work in the superintendent’s kitchen. Here the mottled bine enamel work of the gas range makes a perfect blending with the terrazzo, and great credit is due to tho local makers for their excellent product. SINGLE MEN’S CUBICLES. The block for the single men contains twenty cubicles, all of which arc fitted with a hnilt-in wardrobe and a shaving cabinet. These rooms aro finished in stucco cement with a, warm cream finish, while a radiator served by the central heating system is installed in every room. At tho end of the long corridor is tho single men’s bathroom accommodation. This section of the block Ims been established on the communal principle, embodying several hot showers, wash-hand basins, and lavatories. Tho mess room lor the single men is immediately below tbe cubicle block, and this bright room has a. clinker brick dado, stucco walls, and fibrous plaster ceiling. A large kitchen features an extra large coal range, while residential quarters have also been provided for the female cook, who will have a kitchenette, sitting room, and bedroom. SPACIOUS SOCIAL HALL. One of the outstanding features of the new building is the luxurious social ball above the engine hall. This section of the building is about 80ft x 40ft, and is no doubt one of tho nicest halls of its kind in Dunedin. Six semicircular steel-sashed windows aro particularly attractive to the eye, each window being about lift wide. *Jl’ig-

nrod rimu is hero again featured in a 3ft Gin dado, above which the walls are finished in stucco cement which blends with the fibrous plaster ceiling. For social purposes an up-to-date pantry and scullery adjoins the hall. Nearby is the equipment room and men’s reading and writing room. Immediately off the engine hall and above tbo boiler room, which accommodates two boilers (ono for domestic beating and' ono for tbo hot-water supply), there is the men’s drying room, where their uniforms receive attention when they return from a fire.

Before leaving the main building mention should ho made of the very lino office accommodation for the board, a feature of which is the joinery work of the board room. The room is really a striking exemplification of the beauties of rimu and its appropriate qualities for interior decorative work. Another point worth noting is the strong room, the door of which was made by Mann and Co. (Dunedin). Subsidiary buildings include a well-fitted workshop, carpenters’ shop with two honchos, repairs and fitters’ room (which is is equipped with a Mauley lift capable of lifting eight tons), a community laundry for single men, a tower for hose drying and ladder practice. The latter is 78ft high, constructed of steel and asbestos sheets.