“City’s Beauty Enhanced”

Press, Volume CVI, Issue 31092, 22 June 1966, Page 1

“City’s Beauty Enhanced”

The Town Hall and Civic Centre would enhance the city’s beauty and improve its prestige throughout New Zealand, said the Mayor (Mr G. Manning) yesterday.

He was speaking at a meeting of representatives of the City Council and metropolitan local bodies, called to give them their first view of the winning design.

Mr Manning said he was particularly pleased it was a Christchurch firm which won. ‘The drawings combine beautifully with the site and with the arrangement of Vic-

toria square. The buildings will have a view worthy of the city and worthy to hand on to those who follow.” Mr M. F. Warren, speaking for the partnership, said an architect could not ask for more than to design civic buildings for his own city. Mr Warren said the judges of the competition had produced 12 foolscap pages of detailed comment on the design, so the city’s interests were well taken care of. The winning design had been sent to England for an acoustical report, and all the details had been considered with great 'care.

I "There can certainly be no (problems like those that have (developed in Australia," he said.

Mr Warren said it was a most wonderful site. To start with a site that was superb made it an extraordinary competition.

Cr. H. G. Hay, chairman of the City Council’s town hall committee, said that the cli- ' mate of opinion was such that there was good will towards the project in the area. There was a lot of work ahead. Working drawings might take 18 months to prepare, and the buildings could take more than two years to erect. "But 100 years have gone by without very much being done, so we shouldn't be too ; impatient.”

Cr. Hay said a model was being prepared of the building in the winning design, and the other entries would be displayed at a public exhibition in the Durham street 'art gallery from July 1.