NOTES.

Press, Volume LXIII, Issue 19178, 8 December 1927, Page 4

NOTES.

Mr W. H. Banks is the contractor for ofiices for the Papanui Timber Company afc the corner of Piipanui road and Frank street.

A tender has been let to Mr \\. \\ illiamson, builder, for the erection of a bowser station in Madras street for the JS'ew Zealand Farmers' Co-operative Association of Canterbury, Ltd. The architect is Mr B. J. Ager.

Mr R. Lovell-Smitb, 134 Hereford street, will receive tenders until 4 p.m. on Monday for the erection of a residence in wood at River road, Avonside.

Tenders, closing at noon to-morrow, are invited I'or the erection of a substation in llcdruth avenue, Spreydon, for the M.K.D. The latter also' invites tenders for the erection of a sub-station in Milton street, Sydenham.

Battleship linoleum, a quarter of an inch thick, is being used for covering the floors of tjie Concert Hall. Preparations wore being made yesterday for laying it in the dress circle. Two flights of steps give access to the scats in the latter. Both of the streets entrances are to havo substantial verandahs, and the iron framework of the northern one is already in position. Its outer extremity is not quite out to the building line. Heavy iron girders nnd timber are being used mi tho verandah', which will have fibrous plaster ceilings.

During'the half year concluded at the end of September, building permits to a total value of £940,283 were issued by the Wellington building inspector for alterations, renewals, and new buildings. This is substantially less than the total for the corresponding period last year, which amounted to £1,077,048. The figures for September last wero unusually high—£2l3,l6o—yet not so large as those for the corresponding month of 1925-26, which was the second largest record of that year with £955,390. '

At the unnUft] meeting Of the Christchurch branch of thq New Zeal nnd Institute of Architects Mr O, A. J. Hart was reflected president, with the following committee Messrs W. 11. Trengrove, W. F. Robinson, G. Penlington, R. S. D. Harman, and B. J. Ager, Mr R. Lovejl-Smith was elected and Mr H. F. Willis honorary secretary. Tenders have been called by the Dunedin City Council for the repainting and decorating of the extensive newspaper room at the Public Library. It is many years since the room has had a complete overhaul. When the work was last done, the librarian (Mr W. B. MeEwan) specified that the paint should be oil finished, and ho is so pleased with the long durability of the job that the same specifications will be adopted this time. In tho intervening years the walls have been cajcimined from tin?® to time, but the overhaul has been long overdue. A return of the building activity in the larger centres of the Dominion for the month of October is published in the Abstract of Statistics. The figures include the following: - Value of building permits: Auckland and suburban districts (population 200,§25), £380,184; Wellington (128.960), £377,787; Christchurch (101,055), £83,876; Dunedin (82,255), £163,480; Wanganui (24,420). £12,585; Paijnerstpn North (18,835), £14,740; Masterton (5130), £3060; Blenheim (5130), £3960; Nelr son (10,360), £9469.

To cater more adequately for tlip thousands of tourists who paes thrgugh Eotorua esoh year jind to provide tor the regular local cjemand for entertainment, a theatre with a seating capaeity of 800 is about to be erected in Tutanekai street by the Rotor ua New Picture and General Theatre Company, It is hoped that the handsome and commodious building will attract the better class of travelling thegtrictil companies to Rotorua. _ Ih 6 structure will b© of coucvete with a light steel frame. The street frontage will accommodate four shops and a vestibule 30ft long will lead to the stalls. A broad stairway will give access to the circje on the floor above, and the ceilings will be supported by an ingenious system which will obviate interference with the view. The stage will carry a large screen for motion pictures, and the projection box will be installed below the circle. Ventilation and indirect lighting will bo cap- ' ried out on modem lines. The aci cepted design is the work of Messrs I Grierson, Aimer, and Draffin, architects, of Auckland—"New Zealand Decorator." The Paris weekly, "L'lllustration, despribes in a recent issue the curious revolving house known as "The pvwflower House," lately exhibited at Nice and said to have cost, fully nißhcd, the equivalent of £2OOO in English money. Built of steel and concrete, ?t is octagonal in shape, Jibout 40ft in diameter, and comprises eight equal-sieed rooms symmetrically disposed around a central ,hall. whole structure rests on eight steel girders radiating from a central pivot, and having wheels at their outer ends which roll on a circular track. A the pressure of' a push-button, the house begins to turn on its axis, the complete revolution occupying an hour's time. On account of the peculiar. shape of the rooms, whose side walls converge towards yie interior, there appears to be scope for muc_ ingenuity on the part of the furnisher and decoratqr in devising furnishings that shall be appropriate to conditions which, novel and at first sight upsetting seem on closer consideration wi open up great possibilities in the way of comfort and convenience. Manifest advantages of this style of dwelling are the easv mutual access ottered oj all parts of the house, and the susceptibility of each to catch-or avoul in turn either the sunlight or breeze.