Construction of Flats

Press, Volume XC, Issue 27410, 24 July 1954, Page 6

Construction of Flats

An exhibition now being held in Christchurch to direct public attention to the advantages of concentrating housing in large blocks of flats has much to commend it, for it is closely concerned with practical and social questions that become more pressing as the population grows. It has been emphasised that production from the land must be increased to support a larger population and to provide a sufficient exportable surplus of primary products to exchange for necessaries that cannot be produced in New Zealand. But with the growth of population and the spread of towns .much of the most productive land—land that used to grow crops, fruit, vegetables, dairy produce, and meat —has been taken for housing. New Zealand can no longer afford to be extravagant in the use of such land for housing; nor can it afford to waste utilities and services that are complementary to housing. Housing that is spread fap and wide taxes drainage, water, and roading utilities and puts extra burdens on transport, fire and police protection services. That would be unavoidable if full use were already being made of the existing facilities and services. But that point has not yet been reached; most New Zealand cities, and not a few towns, have central areas which house only a few persons, and in many cases house them badly. Modest slum clearance programmes would provide ample land, handy to transport and with sewerage and water, for building flats. With the proportion of elderly people in the population increasing, there would be a social advantage in having centrally situated flats, in which elderly persons could be easily available to social helpers and social services: The idea of fiat-dwelling is not yet generally accepted in New Zealand, as it is in more closely-settled countries. .But since concentration of housing is becoming as necessary in New Zealand as elsewhere, it is important that the planning principles governing the housing of “ denser" populations should be understood in this country by the public as well as by the architects and town planners. With sound design and construction, multistoreyed buildings can provide comfortable, and, indeed, gracious living room for many persons who do not want large gardens around their homes and for others who no longer want or need the large homes in which they raised their families. The present exhibition should stimulate interest in the advantages of multi-storey flats.