LEAGUE’S HUGE PALACE

Greymouth Evening Star, 28 July 1932, Page 9

LEAGUE’S HUGE PALACE

THIRD OF A MILE LONG. GENEVA, June 13. < Despite the economic crisis in the world, the building of the League ot Nations’ palace, which is e ® t ™^ e n d cost 35,000,000 gold francs (£1,200,000 at parity), .is making rapid, progress. It is expected to be. finished by September, 1934. The foundation stone was laid in September, 1929. and for at least two years this stone remained solitary and was even lost sight of in the clay Like all public undertakings, the building of the League palace has been subjected to severe criticism. The five

architpets belong to four different nations, French, Swiss, Italian, and Hungarian. As was to be expected at Geneva, there was not always complete concord among threm. The facade of the building is onethird of a mile from end to end, and the whole palace covers a surface of approximately 18,500 square, metres. The great Assembly Hall, which will seat 2,000 persons, occupies the centre of the building. In the Press gallery there will be accommodation for 600 journalists. On the left are the Council hall and the offices of the Secretariat, and on the right the library. A special commission was sent to London to study acoustics in various public buildings. The . ventilating system for the Assembly Hall and Committee rooms will be of the most

perfect and up-to-date type, and cost cne and a-half million gold francs (£60,000). The library, which will cost live million gold francs (£200,0.00) to build, will accommodate one million volumes. This library is the gift of Mr Rockefeller, with another five million gold francs for endowment. The building contract has been given to an international group consisting of one Italian, two Swiss, and one French firm, who among themselves formed a syndicate. So far only one contract (720,000 gold francs—£2B,Boo), for equipment and fittings, has been given to a British firm, this being for the internal installation of the book store. This was only obtained through the depreciation in the pound sterling, which caused the British estimate to •bo considerably lower than others submitted. And it is to be remembered that of the total cost the proportion to be borne by the British Empire [ and Dominions is 26 per cent.