BOROUGH COUNCIL OFFICES.

Patea Mail, Volume VIII, Issue 968, 6 December 1882, Page 3

BOROUGH COUNCIL OFFICES.

A meeting of the committee appointed to consider the designs for the above was held yesterday morning. Thirteen plans were received in all, good, bad, and indifferent. After a hasty run through, three were laid aside as thoroughly unsuitable. The remaining ten were displayed on the table and duly considered. “ Rirau” forwarded plans of a neat building, the internal arrangements being good.

“ Municipal”—The internal design was good, and the front of a pleasing character. This plan met with particular favour from Councillor Taplin. “ Wellington” was considered too plain. The details were very well worked out.

“ IX encircled ” showed a very neat building, but the frontage was not ornamental enough. “ Miti Dulce ” —This was a particularly striking and handsome design, a prominent feature being a clock tower rising from the centre of the building. The intex-nal arrangements were also of a superior character and although the whole design was greatly admired, the committee seemed to be of opinion that the work could not be carried out for the ■sum at their disposal. {t Advance ” was a plain useful building. Crow quill ” sent a very excellent design in the Roman Doric style. There was a handsome colonade supsnorted by columns, and the main buildwas set off by an ornamental balustrade. The interior arrangements were very good, and taken altogether the design was considered one of the best submitted. . “ Nitu ” forwarded a design the most noticeable feature of which was a large urn placed., on top of the parapet. Councillors facetiously? remarked that it would do very well to keep their ashes in.

“ lota ” was considered too plain altogether, although the inside arrangements were good. “ Leo ” sent a very neat design in the Doric style of architecture. The front of the building is much improved by a handsome portico, supported by Corinthian columns, .above..which will be a clock.- ‘ ~ The whole is"snrmonnted by a lion resting on a pedestal, the general effect being one of great harmony and neatness. The internal arrangements will need some alteration if the design is accepted by the Council, as the committee intend to recommend. There are, besides the Council Chamber, which is 41 x 25ft., five rooms, a strong-room, and lavatory and storeroom. Entrance is gained to the building through a pair of doable doors with rounded tops. The passage or corrider is 8 feet wide and runs through the building direct to the Council Chamber which is situated at the back, On entering, to the right in the Engineer’s

office 16 x 16 with fireplace; next is the contractors room 16x12. Adjoining this is a passage leading from the corridor to the side of the building and on the other side of the passage is the Mayor’s parlor, 20 x 16. On the loft side of the main corridor are the storeroom and lavoratory in the front, the rate collector’s room, 17 x 16, adjoining; then the strong room, and last the Town Clerk’s office, 18 x 16. The strong room is situated so as to be accessible by means of a passage to cither the Town Clerk’s .or Date Collector’s office. There are fireplaces in the Clerk’s, Mayor’s, and Engineer’s rooms, and two fireplaces in the Council Chamber, at one end of

which, by the way, there is a raised clias for “ His Worship.” The only objecto the ground plan appears to be the lavoratory and storeroom occupy the front of the building, which no donbt wonld be better used for the public office. If the Council decide to remove these to the back, a re-arrange-ment will be necessary ; but this will not bo a difficult matter.