THE BUILDING YEAR.

Dominion, Volume 6, Issue 1611, 30 November 1912, Page 6

THE BUILDING YEAR.

WORK & PROSPECTS.

SOME OF THE CITY'S GAINS. STRUCTURES PROJECTED. The building trade -in Wellington is now moving inio what promises to be a period of decided^-activity as compared with tlio last few years. .So far as the erection of buildings of the largest class is concerned, local building enterprise last roached its height in 1907, in which year a number of big buildings weTe erected in and adjacent to Lambton Quay. After 1907 there was a falling away in the construction of buildings of notable size. The bottom of this decline was readied in 1910. There has' since been a slow but steady revival and the number .of large buildings now in process of construction or projected indicates that the amount of building for 1913 will mark a big step forward as compared with the years immediately preceding. Owing to the conditions under which it is being carried out, much of the work now in hand and in prospect will benefit workers in the building trade more than local contractors and architects. In some cases outside architects and contractors have been employed, and one of the biggest undertakings to be commenced in the 1 immediate future—the erection of the new Parliamentary Buildings—will be carried out under the supervision of the Government Architect. In general the opinion of those who are qualified to turn an expert eye upon the prospects of the building trade .in Wellington seems to incline towards optimism., Some architects speak in a depressed way about .the lack of architectural beauty in many of the buildings which are lreing added to the city, and attribute it to the activities of irregular and unqualified practitioners. An Architects' Registration Bill was'printed and circulated in the closing days of the late session of Parliament, and architects who are dissatisfied at the present invasion of their profession hope that the Bill will be passed into law next session, and will introduce a needed reform by requiring everyone desirous of practising as an architect to give satisfactory proof that he is possessed'of the necessary qualifications.

Public Buildings. Pride-of place among the buildings completed in Wellington during 1912 is taken by the. new General Post Office, the handsome stone structure (erected during the past two years at a cost of ,£96,000), which was opened for business on November 26. A less ornate Government building is a large brick store which is being erected on Waterloo Quay, at a cost of about .£17,000, for the use of the Post and Telegraph Department. It is to. be utilised for the storage in bulk of materials imported from abroad. The erection of tKe new Parliamentary Buildings, for the first portion of which tenders are to be called shortly, will dominate all other building enterprises in Wellington for some years to come. The Public Works Statement, presented to Parliament, last session, intimated that it .is hoped to complete the first instalment of the building programme, and have the building in readiness, for the reception of Parliament in the session of 1915. . The portion of the building for which tenders are about to be called includes rather more than half of the cempleted structure—chambers for both Houses of the Legislature, lobbies, and large suites of rooms. Portions of the building to be held over meantime are the library, Bellamy's, and a few suites of rooms. The. ornamental dome which is ultimately to crown the building will not be added until the second portion of the building has been erected. The estimated cost of that portion of the building which is to bo commenced forthwith is The concrete foundations, whiclj provide ample strong-room accommodation for the storage of documents and records, have already been put in by the Public-Works Department at a cost of about j£20,000.' " The estimated cost of the second portion which will complete the building, is 000. Improvements to the Parliamentary grounds and the widening and improvement of surrounding streets (including the cutting, away of Quinton's Corner) will account for a total expenditure of about Many people still express regret at the destruction of the beautiful groves and shrubberies which used to surround old Government House, but it is undeniable that the new formation, of the grounds, with'lawns and drives sloping away from the building site, will give the new home of Parliament a commanding situation. Buildings Postponed. It was proposed last year to erect a brick building in Sydney Street, at a cost of .£20,000, to accommodate the Stamps and Native Land Departments' and the Native Land Court._ Tenders were called twice for this building, but ultimately it was dropped for the time being from the Government buildihg programme. The same fate befell the proposed Dominion Museum, although at times during the past year, there seemed to bo prospects that it would be put in hand at an early date.. Plans were actually drawn (during the tctm of ■ the Mackenzie Government) for a building fronting the new Museum Street. It was estimated to cost ,£30,000 Tho proposal-was dropped when the present Government came into offioe, and the present intention ,is to make tho existing museum building, with some additional storage accommodation, suffice for a time, and ultimately to convert the present Parliamentary Library building into a museum. .

Additions were recently mode to the verandahs at Lambton station. This strengthens an impression generally held that the new oentral station in Wellington is not to Ire.looked for in the immediate future. A goods-shed at Te Aro station is numbered amongst the possibilities for the ensuing year, but a difficulty lias arisen in regard to obtaining a site for the shed and its adjacent lines and sidings.

Theatres and Picture Halls. Plaoes of public entertainment took a prominent place in the building programme of the past year, and will continue to do so in tho year about to commence. Hi 3 Majesty's Theatre in. Courtenay Place will .be an impre&sivo addition to the city's buildings when it is completed and ready for occupation, which it is expected to be at the beginning of the new year. Mr. H. N. White is the architect for the building, and ho is also supervising its construction on tho day-labour system. Tho estimated cost of the structure. is .£25,000, and it will have seating accommodation for 2000 people. It is of the true steel-frame construction, so designed and built that the brickwork of the walls could be taken out at will if tho need arose, at any height from the ground, without interfering with the stability of the building. A cantilever verandah will stretch along, (he front of the completed structure. A novel internal feature is the ventilation system. Jn addition to the ventilation louvres over the stage which exist in most theatres, a long louvre extends across the full breadth of the building where roof and wall meet opposite the stage. His Majesty's is intended for a picture theatre, hut is equipped with a. stage which win be ustd for purposes of dramatic presentation should the occasion arise. The construction of tho new Opera House on a section in Manners Street East is still in its preliminary stages. The architect for this important building is the Hon. ffm. Pitt, of Melbourne, and Messrs. Sanders Bros., of Wellington, have contracted to build it for the sum of ,£33,000. The new Opera House will accommodate an audience of about 1700 persons. It is to bo built ton feet hack from tho present street line and will bo bord- : ered by rights-of-way fifteen feet wide. Two picture theatres were completed and . lioensed during the year —the Adelnhi and [ the Peoplo's Picture Palace. The former theatre has since been acquired by \ J. I). Williams and Tenamed tho Empress. ■ it is of brick, steel, and concrete construc- ' tion and is one of Wellington's cosiest cn- . tertainment houses. The People's Picture Palace, also erected during tho past year, ! is a smaller theatre, but eminently suit- ! able for the purpose which it was'erected [ to serve. Wellington now has eight picture theatres in full operation. Tho number will stand unchanged when His Majesty's is opened, as the use of the Skating Itink in Vivian Street as a picture ' show will then bo discontinued. Following are the present picture theatres, tho number of persons they are licensed to [ accommodate being shown in parentheses: ; King's (1250), Now (300). People's Picture i Pahw (498), Shortt'« (480), Empww (Mi Star (S80), Skating Eiai 6k

Thomas's Hall (500). A picture thear tre - in ■ Ingestre Street, licensed to hold 470 persons, was closed during the yeaT. There are said to bo prospects of one or more picture theatres being erected shortly at Thorndon, and it is definitely announced that the J. D. Williams Proprietary will build another picture theatre on the section in Manners Street, next to tho Duke of Edinburgh Hotel. Another building in course of construction, which is designed, to servo purposes of public entertainment, is tho Oriental Bay ICiosk, which is being erected for a local syndicate by Messrs. Howie and Matthews, on tho site of the old kerosene store at the foot of Roseneath Hill. Tho kiosk is to include a roomy concert and dancing hall. It will command « fine view of the iharbour and of Oriental Bay, and is expected to become a very popular place of resort. The City Council is meeting an oftexpressed demand by the erection of an afternoon tea kiosk at Newtown' Park.

A New Church. Plans have been prepared- for a new Congregational Church, to be built when the situ of the present church in Cdurtenay Place .is sold. The new church will be situated at the corner of Lorne Street and Kent Terrace. Commercial Buildings. The list of commercial and business buildings completed during the year, now under way, or projected, i 6 a fairly long one. Prominent amongst those completed are tho refitting nud repair shops constructed for the Union Steam Ship Company at Evans Bay. These buildings have been- on several occasions described in The Dominion. The architects for the ■workshops which form part of tho Evans Bay establishment were Messrs. Crichton and Jl'Kay. The workshops cost about .£22,000. Other buildings entrusted to the same architects were offices for the Royal Insurance Company (Featherston Street), which -cost close upon a wool, skin and hide store, wliici'i is being erected for Messrs. Levin and . Co., at .Kaiwarra, at a cost of approximately ,£28,000,. and an out-patients' and pathological building for the Wellington Hospital Board, for which the contract price is about

A start is now being , made upon the erection of new premises for a branch of the Bank of New Zealand, at the oorner of Cuba Street and Manners Street. The architect for the building, is Mr. W. Turnlntll. and the. contractors are Messrs. Campbell and Burke. A reinforced concrete building in Cuba Street, erected early in the year for tho T. G. Macartliy Estate, has been taken by Messrs. George and George, drapers. Large business premises were erected -in Dixon Street during the year for Sha.land and Co. Extensive additions iu brick were made to business premises in .Willis Street, owned by the A. A. Baines Estate. A roomy brick warehouse, which is being erected in Victoria Street for Aulsebroolc and Co., is well on the way towards completion. Messrs. Penty and Lawrence were the architects for a NurSes' Residential Club, a brick build-, ing.' erected in Kensington Street, at a cost of approximately .£Booo.' Other buildings of the year are additions to the Wellington Hotel in Moleswprth Street, business premises in Johnston Street erected in steel and coucretu for Messrs. Watkins, Hull, and Wheeler; a factory in.Winsfield Street for Jackson and Co.; another in Marion Street for C. Cathie and Co.) a store in Molesworth Street for J. Staples and Co.; and extensive alterations to tlio premises of Scoullar and Co., on Lambton Quay. Messrs. Campbell and Burko aro engaged in reinstating, at a cost of ,£BOOO, the building in Lambton Quay which was occupied by Messrs. Whitcombe and Tombs uatil it was gutled by fire a few months ago. The principal addition mjide to its; buildings last, year by ths Harbour Board was tho Z store, a large brick building, which, is used for-purposes of cold storage. Another Harbour Board undertaking carried put during the year was the erection of offices for the Ferry Company over the entrance to the Ferry Wharf.

An Infant School, Tho Wellington Education Board bas an important building enterprise in hand-r the erection of training collego buildings at Kelburno. One. of those buildings, which is to be gone on with at once, is an infant school, which is to be a substantial structnro of brick. It will front Kowhai Road. A sum of over 'i'-1000 has been provided to cover the cost of tho infant school, improvements to grounds, etc. Suburban Buildings. In Onslow .Borough building has been, carried on briskly' during tho past, two, years, and the amount of building this year shows a considerable increase. Tor. the financial year ending in March 31 last, the amount expended on new buildings in the borough was about .£17,000. This included .£2OOO for the new post office at Kaiwarra, completed in the early Dart of this year. Another item was .£689, the cost of erecting a State school at Ngaio. For the period from April 1, 1912, the value of buildings, completed or, now in hand is about ,£37,000. This includes a sum of nearly the value of a large brick building which is being erected at ICaiwarra for Messrs. Levin and Co., who will use it as a wool, skin, and hide store. This building will not be completed for .some time. Work upon, it was delayed.owing to the difficulty of getting girders - and other similar materials out from England during the late dock strike. About twenty-five dwellinghouses were erected in Onslow Borough during 1911-12, and twenty for this year; about eighteen have been completed or are now in hand. The building programme in Miramar. Borough during the past twelve months has included a town.liall, erected in wood, at a cost of iaisb,- ; i?srick building, to be used as an electrical power station, and several large concrete buildings, which have been erected to the order of tho Wellington Gas Company. Tho pewer station, whicli is to cost some .£3OOO, will be completed alxratthe end of the year. The principal buildings erected in Karon during the past twelve months were two churches—St. Mary's (Church of England), a. brick building valued. at .£2OOO, and a wooden structure, built for tho Wesleyan Church, at a.cost of ,£950.