NATIONAL BUILDINGS.

New Zealand Herald, Volume LXVI, Issue 20338, 20 August 1929, Page 11

NATIONAL BUILDINGS.

THE WELLINGTON. .PROJECT,

MUSEUM AND ART GALLERY.

COMPETITIVE DESIGNS SCHEME. Competitive designs for (ho national group of buildings on Mount Cook, Wellington —tlife National Art Gallery, the Dominion Museum and tho Wellington war memorial carillon tower—will shortly be invited. The competition will be open only to registered architects practising in New Zealand.

Tho committee which is to judge the designs submitted will meet in Wellington this week for the purpose of drawing up tho conditions governing the competition. The chairman will bo Mr. Cecil W. Wood, architect, of Christchurch, who has been selected by tho New Zealand Institute of Architects. Mr. Wood will have with him as assessors Mr. J. W. Mawson, Director of Town-Planning, and Mr. W. Gray Young, architect, of Wellington. Sir Joseph Ward, as chairman of .the board of trustees, was to have been one of the assessors, but stood aside in favour of Mr. Mawson.

The competition has been restricted to New Zealand architects, because it is national in character, and also to avoid delay and allow competitors every opportunity of consulting the committee on doubtful points. Referring to the financial aspect of the scheme, the Mayor of Wellington, Mr. G. A. Troup, said last week that of the £IOO,OOO required to bo raised by the people of Wellington, £94,600 had been promised, and of this between £41,000 and £42,000 had been received in cash. When tho campaign was launched contributors wore asked whether they' would give a lump sum or would spread their contributions over fivo payments. A good many of the larger contributors elected to spread their payments out, and several large instalments were now about duo, so that the cash roceived would shortly reach £45,000. The money received had been invested on very favourable terms, and tho interest accruing was considerable.