The Guardian And Evening Star, with which is incorporated the West Coast Times. SATURDAY, MARCH 28th, 1925. MODERN BUILDING.

Hokitika Guardian, 28 March 1925, Page 2

The Guardian And Evening Star, with which is incorporated the West Coast Times. SATURDAY, MARCH 28th, 1925. MODERN BUILDING.

K kck.n't criticism of tin* Government's attitude towards architecture in new State buildings lias drawn an interesting statement on tbe position 'from tin* Minister of Works (lion .1. G. Coates). "The Public Health. Kdmntion, or J’oblie Works Departments are opposed to standardisation of buildings as inadvisable and impracticable,’’ said Mr Coates, “and tbe Government's policy is mat of standardisation of details and equipment only, as lar as possible. Local conditions, as to climate, site, aspect, and availability of materials are all carefully considered when j lans are under consideration. “The real grievance of the Institute of Architects is that some time ago it was decided that high school buildings should, like primary schools and other public buildings, be designed and erected by salaried officers of the State, and that certain hospital boards, composed of able business men, had suggested that a similar arrangement should be made with regaid to erection of hospitals. The soundness of the policy has been amply demonstrated in connection with Government buildings in the Dominion and other countries, and was not questioned by the Institute of Architects until it appeared that another type of public building was to he added to those already dealt with bv the Government officers. School and hospital designs are really specialist work, and New /aland offers such little scope that few private practitioners can obtain the ex]>ericnce necessary to become thoroughly oxjKM't. On that account the Government found it necessary to employ special officers in the Education and Health Departments to criticise the plans submitted by architects and advise them on details. The proposal now is to utilise the time and knowledge of these officers, previously used to a great extent for the benefit of architects. in directing the work of other State employees skilled in architecture and collaborating with them in perfecting details, which, to those responsible for the efficiency of the institutions. contribute greatly towards convenient and successful working. The criticism tliat supervision of building erection is handed over entirely to district engineers is probably founded I upon the fact that, in the standard printed conditions of contract, the district engineer is referred to as the officer having local authority under the contract. It will not he disputed that it is necessary to have a resident responsible officer in the several districts, and that such an officer requires to exercise authority, not only in constructional matters, as the representative of the Minister and his head office organisation in all its branches. District engineers have clerks of works and building overseers on their staffs, and, in the larger centres, architectural draughtsmen

hut in architectural matters the Government architect is the controlling authority, and all important plans are prepared under his direction, or are submitted to him for approval before the work proceeds. District engineers have no authority to depart from the plans and specifications of the Government architects as approved by him without referring the matter to him for sanction. Whenever the Government architect considers it

necessary, the work is inspected by him or a member of his staff thoroughly conversant with the spirit and intention of the design. No one will dispute the statement that the ideal is that an architect should personally superintend the carrying out of his own design, but does any architect with any considerable practice claim that he personaly designs and constantly superintends nl] work fn*

trusted to him. The Government architect is in a similar position to private practitioners, in that respect, but has an advantage that on Government works there is an organisation, which ensures satisfactory construction, and in addition to periodic inspections by his staff there is constantly in close touch with the clerks of works and builders an engineer—a highly edueateef and cultured man who, if he cannot design works of art himself, is capable of sympathetically assisting to carry out the intention of the designer, as expressed in the plans and specifications, and elucidated by personal contact with the architect.