MODERN OFFICES

Taranaki Daily News, 11 April 1935, Page 13

MODERN OFFICES

NEW WELLINGTON LANDMARK. THE PRUDENTIAL BUILDING. The new building of the Prudential Assurance Company Limited is of reinforced concrete and occupies an area with 60ft. frontage to Lambton Quay, and a depth of 83ft. to Plimmer Steps. The site is an historical one, having previously been occupied for many years by the old Exchange Building, which was demolished in order to make way fox- this new and imposing structure. The Rt. Hon. J. G. Coates performed the official opening yesterday. In New Zealand it has been almost the invariable practice to occupy the full area of land available—to build right up ot adjoining properties and to grudgingly provide so-called light areas (which w—ld more aptly be termed “dark areas”) to permit of a certain amount of light and ventilation to those portions of the building which would otherwise be “blacked out.” The Prudential Assurance Company has, however, set back the new building from the adjoining properties on the north and west sides, and so has permitted the erection of a building which is, to all intents and purposes, on an island site. The new building is essentially modern in design with a strong vertical emphasis. It has been designed entirely in reinforced concrete and complies fully with the most recent developments in earthquake-resisting construction. The bulk of Wellington’s city buildings are on reclaimed land, necessitating either pile foundations or the carrying of piers down through the reclamation to a solid bottom. In this instance the building has been erected on the original solid ground, and no extra excavation has been necessitated. The building extends for eight floors above the ground floor, being built to the maximum height permitted by the city by-laws. The lift tower rises 20ft. higher than the remainder of the building, and besides furnishing a pleasing break in the sky-line of the building serves the practical purposes of housing both the lift machinery and the water tanks for fire prevention and for sanitary purposes. The use of the vari-coloured cements ir the one building is a new departure for this country, and the success achieved by their use in this building gives some indication of the wide scope for designers of city buildings in the future, the bright colours being a glad relief from the drab natural cement colours almost invariably used previously.

The Prudential Assurance Co. Ltd. started its career at Blackfriars in 1648 and is now on the eve of its 87th anniversary. The supremacy of this company in the British insurance world has been built on constructive service over three generations. The following colossal figures show how that service has engendered the trust of a discriminating public: As at December 31, 1934, the assets of the company exceeded £290,000,000. The annual income of the Prudential exceeds £50,000,000, while the total new business in 1934 exceeded £85,800,000. The number of life policies in force at the end of 1934 exceeded 28,000,000.