LOW COST HOUSING

Te Ao Hou, September 1959, Page 37

LOW COST HOUSING Much of Mr Scott's work has been for people who, with limited finance, have wanted something other than the usual State house plans. Two such houses shown on these pages were built for about the same price as the usual State house, somewhere in the vicinity of £3,000. Such work represents a challenge, says Mr Scott for the planner must make every move count in conserving the precious pennies. And there isn't, of course, much in it for the architect. A plan may take six weeks to draw up, and an architect's task is by no means finished when that is done. He has to supervise in the purchase of materials and tries to spend as much time as he can on the site while building is in progress. Often he can see better ways of doing things while the building is going up and is often required to help solve problems as they arise. Both of the lower cost houses shown here have been built on a solid concrete slab instead of the conventional building piles. Mr Scott claims that building houses for people makes of one something of a psychologist. “In the first place, one is aiming to correlate one's own beliefs and aesthetic approach to the real needs of other people. This means you've got to find out a lot about them.” He will spend quite a lot of time in discussion and in merely getting beneath the surface of people before anything goes on the drawing board. “The best clients are people of about fifty years of age,” he says. “Younger people are more troublesome because they take too much notice of what everybody else has got—so they want it too —regardless of whether they've got the money to pay for it.” Older people not only listen to other opinions—they are mellower in their approach to life and These views are of St Patrick's School for Girls, Marewa, Napier, built to accommodate 200 pupils in four large classrooms. Two of the classrooms are suspended above ground level—the space beneath being used for bicycle sheds, washrooms, and a sheltered playing area for wet weather. The unusual structural principle of St Patrick's school is based on the scissors truss to give lateral bracing, and alternate slopes have been roofed. The appearance of the school contrasts with the typical State developed area in which it is situated. Top: Part of the courtyard looking down into the staff entrance. As the illustrations show, the building offers interest from all angles and viewpoints—there is continual delight to be found in the experience of turning a corner. Above: Another view of the courtyard showing sheltered play area.

House at Havelock North built for Mr and Mrs Graham; area 1,100 square feet. This house breaks away from many of the stereotypes in lower-cost housing. Both this and the house at left, built for Mr and Mrs J. Molloy, Hastings, cost no more than the average State house. have usually accumulated enough money to be able to afford what they want. I asked Mr Scott whether he used Maori motifs and influences in his plans. He has not often used Maori decoration for interior panelling, but on several occasions he has found the Maori features useful and has adapted them to the European requirements. (See the centre photograph of St. Patrick's School.) He regards the Japanese and Scandinavians as among the most consistently good house-builders.