LAND AND BUILDINGS.

New Zealand Herald, Volume LI, Issue 15558, 16 March 1914, Page 5

LAND AND BUILDINGS.

ELAM SCHOOL OF ART. COMPLETION IN A MONTE, CLASSES IN NEW BUILDING TO-DAY. The new Elam School of Art building had been so far advanced towards completion as to be readj for some of the classes to be taken there. The 19.14 term begins to-day, and the crafts and life classes will be held in the new building, while the other clashes will still be held in the Art Gallery building, .pending the completion! of the new premises, which is expected in about another month, when a formal opening ceremony will be held. The quarters used for the ourposes of. the ait school in the Art Gallery building have for a long time been quite inadequate to serve the growing demand for art tuition, and other buildings in Wellesley Street had to he rented for the holding of the life and crafts classes. The light also in the old rooms has been quite unsuitable. These difficulties, in. connection with the carrying on of the school, will now be a thing of the past, for in the new building special attention has been paid to the righting of the, j adequate classrooms, which, it is considered, will serve the requirements of the ] school for very many years to come. At the present time there is a roll number of 270 students, and the classroom accommodation is equal to taking 200 students at one sitting. The contract price for the new building was £4100. and it is expected that the Government will contribute half the cost. Plans for the building were drawn by Mr. John Cunie. while the structural work has been in the hands of Mr. J. I D. Jones. The structure occupies the site, 33ft by I 100 ft, which adjoins the St. John Ambulance Station in Rutland Street. The site has been donated by the City Council, which has done much' for the school "in the past by granting the use of the Art Gallery building rooms free of charge. The new school is four storeys in height, and has an area of 33ft by 60ft to each floor, and has also a flat roof in ferro-concrete at the rear, and, separated by an open face, is a two-storey addition, 33ft by 15ft, The light-well is 33ft, by 20ft in area, the space having been made extra large for the purposes of an openair class. The roof has been built flat with a similar object. Seven classrooms, all about 30ft by 20ft, and three others slightly smaller, are contained in the building. The largest room in the school is on the top floor. It has an area of 32ft by 26ft, and is lit by a window 18ft high and 24ft wide, probably the biggest window in Auckland. All the rooms are 14ft highThe elevation to Rutland Street is.in red brick with cement facings. Large ground-glass windows on each floor run. almost the width of the frontage. All the windows are frosted, and as they are each built 6ft above the floor a soft-light, with an entire absence off glare, is diffused through the rooms. The light by the aid of curtains can be toned down as required. •• ■•"*■■ In addition to the classrooms there are smaller rooms, including a room for the director of the school (Mr. E. W. Pay ton), and a library-room '■ for the students. Special attention has been paid to ventilation, and the building is to be lit by electricity and heated by gas.