RECORD CONCRETE STRUCTURE.

Press, Volume LX, Issue 18230, 14 November 1924, Page 18

RECORD CONCRETE STRUCTURE.

NEW MELBOURNE BUILDING. A curious blending of ancient architectural principles and ultra-modern ideas of ornamentation is disclosed in the new Capitol building in Swanston street, Melbourne, opposite the Town Hall.

It has taken nearly three years to bring the structure to the point of completion, and the cost is approximately half a million. Something magnificent may be reasonably expected from such an expenditure of time and money, and the elevation as it stands to-day, cleared of the swathes of scaffolding that have so long encased it, certainly gives it a lasting impression of massive strength, elegance and distinction. Rising far above the squat, nondescript block of old colonial building on the original Howey ..block, the. Capitol is clear-cut in grey cement, with a bold entablature and cornice framing it in the skyline. Utility is its dominant note. Yet, while nobody would suspect it of official status, it carries a dignity almost equal to a Government Departmental pile. Its utilities, like its architecture, are mixed to a degree that only ultramodern conditions would bring into harmony. The Capitol contains a great modern picture palace, a brilliant cluster of shops and arcade, and a large congregation of commercial offices. All these diverse purposes .would be unique anywhere, but in Swanston street, hitherto almost exclusively a shop thoroughfare, they mark a, very notable departure. Land in this block is probably saleable 'at £2OOO a foot; but at that price an investor, would require to make full use of the. space.up to the full height of the building limit, and in Swanston street in the past tenants \have " not been easily obtained except for shop premises. . In the Capitol building, however, a bold bid lias been made to capture the best class of office'tenants by providing office space of the most sumptuous character. ' Lofty rooms, 'well lighted and ventilated, and supplied with heating , service and other conveniences,- have been installed, and the response has been a ready acceptance' of tenants throughout the building at good rentals. A special advantage in the letting is an entrance to the Capitol through Howey House in Collins street. Howay House has an arcade with show .windows for tenants, ; and this, breaks through in L . shape into . Swanston street through the Capitol. , The picture theatre in the Capitol has its main entrance, in Swanston street, and has exits , to lanes at the side and rear.

The . main entrance is. designed. with a Byzantine' motif. A very low ceiling, with massive concrete , girders, overhangs a floored vestibule, 'olieved by broken s^nti-circular sVps, leading to a landing from which the stairs to the foyer break away from the corners right and left through low, cavernous arches. A few stout arab'.e3qued pillars, supporting. the heavily massed girders, heighten the impression of a 'cavern entrance carved out of solid concrete, coated with pure white plaster, relieved with geometric patterns' on arches, architraves and lintels, leading to. a hall of mysteries within. a •

With a frontage - of 86 feet, to SwanBton street, by a depth, of 224 feet to Howey place, the Capitol altogether presents full scope for sucli an entrance. Over , the whole front pavejnent is ,spread heavy ca'nopy: of ;■ concrete and glass in lieu of the conventional street verandah. ~ It is.,, suspended on the cantilever principle, and weighs 25 tons. The ceiling is broken with concrete girders, and small panels of plate-glass, through which at night; .electric light'will. .shed a brilliant' glow. • !■ • . ■ ' Passing- under the verandah .and. into the vestibule, the visitor; passes up* the curved steps into the foyer, with its 'balconette, boxes and' balcony, ..from tvh'ih the crowds can be seen assembling in the vestibule below. The theatre itself is a Veritable hall of surprises.* • 'ihe dress circle, with its sloped concrete-floor, and.low concrete girdered ce'ilingj .extends well, into the main • hall, with not a single column in any part to : obstruct the view. From the point where gallery breaks on the the -ceiling, breaks into a. lofty dome, ,with high, windows -■'tli&t-- sdniit clGciric. 'lights in "a thousand shades 1 and'hues -from '"t'erior lijnpsi. all operated by the jpj®* ture • producer. Behind,the; screen,- ao- ■ scent iv made to an organ room, where an organ which combines a_ hundred ' orphe&Tal' instruments." tanging from:! violins, to. flutc-i .aid drums, will be played bv a highly skilled miisician.. The. mechanism of this remarkable instrument- is all electrically _ operated. jp is the only ore of its kind in *he Southern Hemisphere. . ?. rA basement ..floor, 70 feet by 220, ; feet underlies the whole structure, and biilow, - a sub-basement, 23 feet : deep, f contains the. boilers and a stand-by generating i>lant. ' j . The. whole building is a very ponderous mass of steel and cement. Over 12 000 tons of concrete have beeA' usea, as' welk as 700 tons' of bar steel, and 500, tons of structural- steel. The roof beams over the theatre are massive pieces, with a 60.feet span, each weighing about 80.t0n5... When, completed the electric ;. light system will account for 60 miles of: wire and 4000 lamps.