DOMINION MEMORIAL

Sun (Auckland), Volume IV, Issue 1001, 18 June 1930, Page 12

DOMINION MEMORIAL

AUCKLAND FIRM'S DESIGN CHOSEN MUSEUM AND ART GALLERY Press Association ■WELLINGTON. Tuesday. Tho design of Air. \Y. 11. Gummer and Mr. C. B. l'ord. of Auckland, has been i roved f > War Memorial, consisting of the Campanile, j Hall of Memories. Art Gallery and Museum, which it is proposed, to erect on the Mount Cook site. I public competition by the architects of New Zealand and over -0 entries were received. From these the three best were selected by the jury of award and the competing architects were asked to submit further plans of a more detailed character. These were considered yesterday at a meeting of the Hoard of Trustees and the adjudicators. over which the Prime Minister, the Hon. G. AV. Forbes, presided. It was decided in accordance with the recommendations of the assessors to make the following platings: Gummer and Ford, of Auckland .. t Tole and Massey, of Auckland . . 2 Le Petit and McGowan, of Auckland 3 In a subsequent announcement the Prime Minister stated that the Board of Trustees had adopted tho recommendation of the jury of award and indicated that Messrs. Gummer and Ford had been appointed the architects for the work. They had been asked to come to Wellington at the earliest opportunity to go into the various details of the scheme. The jury of award comprised three architects, namely, Mr. Cecil W. Wood, A.R.1.8.A.. of Christchurch, chairman; Mr. W. Gray Young, F.R.1.8.A., of Wellington, and Mr. J. W. Mawson, F.R.1.8.A., M.T.P.1., Director of Town Planning. Premiums of <£soo, £3OO and £2OO will be paid to the authors of the designs placed respectively first, second and third. MODERN CLASSIC STYLE WINNING DESIGN FOR MEMORIAL AUCKLAND FIRM’S SUCCESS Although they were aware that their design was among the three for final selection, it was not until last evening, when they received a congratulatory telegram from Wellington, that the members of the Auckland firm of architects, Messrs. W. FT. Gummer, C. R. Ford and G. F. Wilson, were informed of their success in the competition for the designing of the national group of buildings on Mount Cook, Wellington. More than 20 designs were submitted, and in January the jury of award met for the purpose of reducing the number to three. These were criticised and the authors were asked to amend their designs accordingly. Thus the competition was carried out in two stages, and Messrs. Gummer, Ford and Wilson have known for some time of their success in the first stage. Four distinct purposes are embraced in tho project, for in the main group of buildings will be accommodated the National Art Gallery, the Dominion Museum, and the New Zealand Academy of Fine Arts, while set prominently in front of the group will be the Wellington War Memorial Carillon Tower. The scheme, as designed, is a complete one, but the whole project will not be carried through at once. Thus, an important requirement of the competition was that the portion of the building to be constructed first was to be within a cost of £170,000. DOMINION MUSEUM

On tho lower floor of the main build- n ings accommodation is provided for lib- s raries, a lecture hall and an auditorium, work rooms and store rooms. There £ ( are two main floors, the lower of which -r will house the Dominion Museum, while the National Art Gallery and Academy r* of Fine Arts will be situated on the “ upper floor. The Maori hall in the t museum section of the buildings will, in itself, be a notable feature. It will be 150 ft. long, 56ft. high and 50ft. wide, and such dimensions will allow ample scope for setting off the exhibits, some of which are as high as 28ft. The art gallery will feature a special G system of lighting which is the result ** of an extensive study of the art galleries of the world, by Mr. S. Hurst Seager, a well-known architectural authority, of Christchurch. Abroad, he invariably found poor lighting, and i consequently ho set to work to devise a scheme of direct lighting with the object of throwing greater light on the pictures, and it is intended to make use of this device. £ Although no colour will be used, the f exterior design of the structure, of e modern classic style, is of extreme sim- } plicity, the various planes all being « massed to form a fitting crowning feature to the high hill on which the buildings will stand. On the main facade is a beautiful colonnade in the modern mahner. The carillon tower, rising to a height of 160 ft., and erected in front, presents a natural foil to the horizontality of the building. At the base of the tower, its great height made 1 necessary because of the size of the bells it has to house, will be a hall of memories. The building will be of reinforced concrete, with stone on thu main facades. BLOCK. FOR MEMORIAL WORK OF AUCKLAND SCULPTOR PRAISED "The Will To Peace". This equestrian statue, executed for the Wellington War Memorial by the Auckland sculptor, Mr. ft. O. Gross, has received much favourable comment in j London since its exhibition at the Royal j Academy. It is to stand on the 60ft pylon which is to be the main feature j of the memorial. Mr. Prank Rutter, the eminent art critic, stated in a London newspaper: "The two most prominent sculptural i exhibits this year are Mr. Reid Dick's ! bronze group (1629) for the Leverhulme ! Memorial at Port Sunlight—perilously I reminiscent of Rodin’s ‘Citizens of . | Calais’—-and the new Zealand sculptor i j Mr. Richard O.- Gross’s equestrian statue. ‘The Will to Peace’ (1669). This . j also is reminscent of G. F. Watts’s j ‘Physical Energy,’ which I remember ' j seeing many years ago on the same ! ;! site in the Academy Courtyard. On I I j behalf of Mr. Gross, It can certainly be | i said that, since Mr. Watts exhibited i 5 nothing better lias been shown there ! ;; than his model for the Peace Memorial j I I for Wellington. To symbolise ‘Peace’—l ■ in its essence a negative idea—is a difTi- ; J cult task for painter or sculptor; but the will to peace is a positive aspira- . i! tion. and aspiration is clearly expressed i .: in the soaring lines of Mr. Gross's - statue.” i Tho statue, which is a work in the . classical spirit, represents the winged horse of inspiration, Pegasus, being ridden by a Xew Zealander who strives ’ for the greater tilings than the spoils of war. And war, which is symbolised ) by banners and arms is being trampled . beneath the horse's feet. The rider t holds a garland, which he is allowing . to fall away, while he aspires to higher I things. j The statue is still on exhibition at - 1 the academy and it is intended to bring it to Xew Zealand next October.