FINE MODEL OF SECURITY

Taranaki Daily News, 7 June 1930, Page 7

FINE MODEL OF SECURITY

SAVINGS BANK BUILDING MODERN AND DISTINCTIVE WORK. NEW PREMISES IN NEW PLYMOUTH A model, of security, the new building of the New Plymouth Savings Bank in Devon Street, now practically, completed, is a lasting monument to the energy and'“wisdom of the directors and staff, to the faith of the public in. its own town bank and to the craftsmanship of the designers and contractors, all of whom are Taranaki firms. f Fittingly enough, the new building will be opened by the. Governor-General, Lord Bledisloe, on Friday, next. The white face of the building, done in English Renaissance . style ’with terra cotta' blocks, has a clear-cut' distinction and grace which give it a high place among the architecturally valuable buildings of the town. Set well back so that it is almost inlaid like, a gem, the front of the building is simple and compact, with touches here and there of striking artistry. Across the top in big., gold lettering runs the. title New Ply.-, mouth Savings Bank. Four columns of polished Balmoral granite rise up from the terrazzo floor and support a balcony on the second floor. Flanking the broad main door on each side are two lamps worked in solid bronze. It is not a building of airy pretension or wildcat magnificence. . Neither is ■ it a cramped, lean looking place with a miserly scope. It ia a building that stands for. the progress of the bank in the years that have passed and looks forward to the progress in the years to come. The directors have looked ahead ten years and the biulding has been designed with the aim of giving. to the finances of the bank a permanent home., EXTENSIVE FACILITIES. One other striking feature of the building is the pains which have been taken to give the public, the directors and the staff every possible facility. Even a cursory glance inside gives an impression of surprising space. A studied view shows how remarkably this space has been used to give comfort and ease to all who have business in the ingThe bare dimensions give, even to the layman an impression of space. The length is 130 feet and the width 30 feet. The portico gives an attractive entrance. Just inside the portico the two lamps of bevelled glass and polished ! bronze catch the eye. A modern device [controls the lighting of the two lamps. I At the side of each lamp are deadlights. Through one of these leadlights the nightwatchman is able to look through the building 1 to the strongroom. When the strongroom door is closed a light is automatically switched on just outside it, and this safety light can be seen by the nightwatchman from outside. Passing through the massive main doors one comes to the vestibule with its deep coffered ceiling, decorated walls of white plaster and terrazzo floor. From one side of\the vestibule a wide staircase of terrazzo winds up to the spacious board room. In the board room is the long, • polished horseshoe table. Three glass doors lead from the board room to the balcony, and at one end of the | room is an alcove for the Press. From the vestibule wide swing doors of Tasmanian blackwood with bevelled J plaid* glass lead through to the comfortable waiting lobby. Doors open from the lobby into the rooms of the president and the manager. LONG BANKING CHAMBER. From the public’s point of view the surprise of the building is the great banking chamber, 56ft. long by 28ft. wide. Everything is in perfect taste and comfort has not been sacrificed to commercial austerity. One one side of the chamber are ranged the tellers’ boxes and the accountant’s room, with shining fittings of polished wood and brass. Along the wall opposite are tables and chairs for the public. At the far end are the ledgers divided from the main chamber by a bhickwood screen and adorned with leadlights of a fine pattern. On the floor of the main chamber the bank’s monogram is perfectly worked on the surface of the soft-treading paraflor material. Light streams from the ceiling through six huge glazed leadlights and there are six more set high in one side wall. The ceiling and wrll leadlights, invaluable for ventilation, make the big chamber airy and healthy. At night-time it will be no dim vault. Twelve great white globes hang from j the ceiling. Along the public’s side of 1

the ; chamber there are eight wall bracket lamps, and five swivel lamps in green, adaptable for different position, are placed over the tellers’ boxes. The whole building is electrically heated and radiators will keep the staff and the public comfortable. The large strong-room, securely guarded by the latest in safe doors and equipped with an iron gate, is placed at on© side of the ledger room. The inside is automatically lighted. Opening off the ledger room is a passage leading to the stationery room and conveniences on the ground floor, and from tho passage access is gained by a staircase to the social hall and lunch room. In the latter every facility is provided for the comfort of the staff. The passage also leads down to the basement, which contains a vault and storeroom. The whole building, which was designed by Messrs. Messenger, Griffiths and Taylor, is of reinforced concrete, and is constructed in three sections. The front portion is two stories high; the middle (banking chamber) one story, with continuous glazing along the roof, and the rear section is three stories high. The lighting and ventilation of every part of I the building are on the most modern lines. I The contractors, who had control of the erection of the building and the fitting of the terracotta blocks, were Messrs. Jones and Sandford, Ltd. In addition nine New Plymouth firms were engaged as sub-contractors.