NEW NURSES’ HOME.

Taranaki Daily News, 28 September 1921, Page 5

NEW NURSES’ HOME.

COMPLETION OF THE BUILDER HANDSOME STRUCTURE. COSTING £20,000. The nursee’ home which has erected in connection with the New Plyt mouth Public Hospital is now practical* ly ready for occupation. The homer which k one of the finest buildings o£ the kind in New Zealand, is on a sitq of two acres facing West Street, jacent to the hospital. Of concrete construction and finished in rough cast* tinted in pale buff, it presents a bandsome appearance. The home will ac* commodate about sixty nurses, and ite appointments are modern in every respect. Its cost will be in the vicinity of £20,000. • In the course of a visit to the home yesterday, a Daily News reporter found that with the exception of one or two small details the builders’ work is finished, and the next step will be the furnishing. A contract has been let to ft New Plymouth firm, but thia will not be completed for another month, so that; the occupation of the home is yet A little way off. The building is entered, from an octagonal porch 28 feet wide, and the visitor proceeds through a portico into the main hall, to wliieh oregon wainscotting and plaster friesai gives a pleasing finish. From the main? stair hall a corridor runs north and* south. To the left is a spacious sit-ting-room (40ft x 18ft Oin.). It is weR-| fitted up, and overlooks the front en-| trance from fourteen casement windonasj? fanlights and overlighte. A double place stands in the centre and some cup* boards are filled in for the of the nurses. The ceiling is of ptaa* ter, supported by heavy oregon beamej and the floors of rimu, prepared aod# waxed. On the right side the roonu» are laid out on a similar plan, and space is devoted to a sisters’ sittrng-jj room and lecture hall and study, ticularly bright and attractive rooms* On the opposite side of the corridor are the main bedrooms. THE MEMORIAL HALL. Directly through from the main stair* hall ia a spacious memorial and soeial'4 hall, the dimensions being 48 x 25 x 16ft, Special leadlight memorial windows at*, each end are a feature of this room, and. casement windows give light from the northern side. The ceiling is of heavy oregon principals with coved finish, and.; an mportant item from the social side is the floor, which is specially sprung for/ dancing. It is possible the hall will also be used for physical drill. A fireplacq is built in a recess. Separated from the sitting-room ors the south side of the building by ar-oordeon-hung sliding doors is the diningroom. A built-in buffet and servied cupboards are conveniently situated,, andJ communication with the kitchen is obtained through a slide for serving purposes. The kitchen itself appears have been designed to facilitate tbej work of this department in every possible way. Meals will be prepared by a, large electric cooker, and a gas stove is also installed. The room has a dado of white glazed tiles. The service einks, are of porcelain and the adjacent bench is marble-topped, with scotia tiles let into the dado with the idea of making cleansing easy. Floors are of imglazed tiles. The kitchen block abounds with a number of other conveniences: A service scullery with double sinks, and a number of cupboards, a service pantry with plenty of bins, a room for preparing vegetables for cooking, and a cool store with tiled walls and safes with< marble shelves for holding meat and milk; it is enclosed by. dust-proof shut-! ters. Comfortable looking quarters, including dining-room and'" sitting-room, are adjacent to the kitchen block. MINIMISING FURNITURE. The first floor is reached by a big rimu staircase, and it houses the majority of bedrooms. A feature of these is that wardrobes, cupboards, and dressing tables are, all built in, beds and chairs being the only necessary articles to complete the furnishing. Provision is made for a drying room for clothes, an. ironing room and baggage room. Casement windows give access to a spacious balcony in the front portion of the building, and smaller ones run along the north and west sides, giving a choice of open-air promenades, no matter what prevailing winds are being experienced. All have floors of neuchatel asphalt, and a flat-roof promenade just off one of the top corridors is similarly laid out. The roof of the home is of Marseilles •tiles, which set off the rough-cast finish. Heating will be provided by means of fireplaces and electric radiators, and a good hot-water service will be available, as a new boiler-house now being erected in the hospital grounds will also serve the home. The building was designed by Messrs. Messenger, Griffiths and 'Taylor, oi New Plymouth, and is a splendid addition to the town s architecture. The contract work has been ■in the hands of Messrs. Boon Bros. ■Ltd.