PLASTIC BUILDINGS

Wairarapa Times-Age, 10 February 1944, Page 3

PLASTIC BUILDINGS

TEST OF PREFABRICATED CLASSROOMS. (Bv Telegraph—Press Association.) WELLINGTON, This Day. The placing of contracts for 45 prefabricated classrooms in Auckland, 35 in Wellington and 25 in Dunedin was announced yesterday by the Minister of Works, Mr Simple. He said that in the event of further classrooms being required these would be prefabricated in the centres nearest to the demand. “Through the utilisation of this type of school,’ said the Minister, “muchneeded relief will be afforded throughout the country to the various schools where there is overcrowding at present.” He added that the classroom had been designed as the result of investigations carried out by his officers, the Director of Education and the various education boards’ architects. Those rooms would be the first all-plastic excrior buildings to be erected in this country. They were built with laminated plastics similar to those used in the construction of aircraft. This material was being manufactured in New Zealand and would afford his department an opportunity of testing under actual operations the possibility of the use of the material in housing construction.

The classrooms had been designed to afford a maximum of sunlight, as provision had been made for five large windows of the hopper type, which would ensure perfect ventilation of the classrooms. Some schools would require more than one room, but by grouping these buildings a northerly aspect could always be secured. It was anticipated that there would be a considerable number of these'rooms required.