MR PECK'S DESIGN FOR NEW

Colonist, Volume LVII, Issue 14165, 16 August 1916, Page 1 (Supplement)

MR PECK'S DESIGN FOR NEW

(From "The Colonist/ Jul s 29 x Ja a letter to the Nelson and Charitable Aid Board '-WmSnv "■S his design-which wL adopSd fnK jew Alexandra Homo to See th ;i adopt the best points of tfio r>»e•]itho? !U1; T»- lioSf^f e "^WS,^ entrance administrate and JutceiT I'look*. . -■■*"- irSutff^T^ 0 -of this •or tl 1 i ta¥ ir^ ls t0 mak* a home i°Ltl +? 1>eoi>1(? ?,° faT as is p°ssiWe i fu they are collected in numbeand the mest difficult part of tlStask gtopan 60 that the/ can individual Jtel a seme of "detachment" at will alsome no doubt destno especial sympathy and hep in tins respect, and a^ provided for m my plan' '.Coming from England with an open mind and famihar on the one hand & the old English Poor Law Workhouse and its wards; and on the other, with tiie comrortabte English endowed Aimhouse with its independent litfclo cottar suites—two opposite .types—l think that litre in New Zealand a permanent building should not bo planned to group old pe-opJe of the futuro in large wide two row bed wards (I have included the minimum m tins case). I take it also, that though many <*ro infirm and some crip-1-led (for there will be old soldiers in the future) sudi inmatos should not have to live permanently in open wards as in liospitals ; fui'thermore, wide double row wards usually have one icy cold side unless laid out upon an axis North to South, which the shapo and outlook,of tins particular site dees not permit of. I realise, however, that many old peocle require some attention and cannot "bo placed by themselves, but one can help another, people become friends, and two pairs of friends in a' single row ward, in which each bed can be screened easily, appears to he a suitable compromise and. this principle I have mostly adopted; a mere light folding screen of the Japanese type "would suffice. , My scheme contains no damp, dark, or' sunless quadrangle or area; every spot is opened out to the s,un and a if, aud every window could look upon a garden bed. The old "yards" disappear and give place to the garden and flower beds and the bowling green or croquet lawn. Croquet is much played by our crippled veterans in England. ,- Tlie proposed quadrangle has opened out everything to the sun, and the buildings and bays on the Tutuki Road front towards the top of. the site thrust out towards the road likewise face the sun, all being the natural result of special planning for the site upon "aspect" principles. All the. buildings except the entrance or administrative a>t the Tutuki Road end and i:hose bounding the S.W. end of the quadrangle are kept low (ground floor high), 'file two storey buildings, together with the dining hall, will Screen off the prevailing Waimea winds. The verandahs and the balcony of the upper floor of the male qnarfcer'a will look north over the loav buildings towa'reis Nelson and down the road leading to the City, providing constant interest to the initiates. " Furthermore, the bowling green or croquet- la"wn will: give them gardenia and pleasant light' occupation, and doubtless many pleasant matches would b<- played. The dining-room is designed of a sizo for the future, plainly <vnd economically,! and adaptable for occasional use for entertainments ; it is en&ilv accessible to' the, inmates of each sp\ .from within I and to visitors on occasion from without.