world news
Successful Bid for Auckland Redevelopment
A THREE-PARTNER building consortium has won the rights from the Auckland Harbour Board for an £18 million re- development scheme on a seven-acre site in a key down- town area. The scheme which includes two multi-storey buildings, hotel-motel, car park and department store, is the first stage of the Harbour Board's redevelopment plans for 13 acres of land along the water-front.
Work may begin within a year and it is considered the job would take between seven and eight years to finish. The consortium consists of Mainline Constructions Pro- prietary, Ltd., of Sydney, Dillingham Constructions Pro- prietary. Ltd., of Melbourne, Australian affiliate of the Dillingham Corporation of Honolulu, and the Fletcher Trust and Investment Company, Ltd., of Auckland. It is reported that they beat two other groups for the rights as developers with lease of the land, after the Harbour Board called world tenders. From the seven-acre first stage, the Harbour Board will be paid a little more than £150,000 a year ground rental by the developers, com- pared with £15,000 a year now,
Sydney architects, Peddle, Thorp and Walker, prepar- ed the plans submitted with the consortium's tender. The largest building will be 31 storeys above ground level. The board's chairman, Mr. R. C. F. Savory, said the scheme was the largest of its kind in New Zealand and would provide Auckland with a gateway. linking port and city, of which successive generations would be justifiably proud. He said two unsuccessful proposals came from Goddard and Smith for the Taylor Woodrow Group, and Metropolitan and Provincial Properties, Ltd., of London.
American Samoa Tropical Medical Centre
WORK is expected to begin this month on construction of the new American Samoa Tropical Medical Centre to be built at Faga'alu Village, Tutuila Island. Twelve US companies put in bids last month for building the centre, which is designed by San Francisco architects, Stone, Mar- raccini and Patterson.
The centre will be a single-storey structure of 95,000
Artist's impression of the medical centre
Far East Architect & Builder June, 1966
Model of the British Pavilion designed by Sir Basil Spence for the 1967 World Exhibition, Montreal. It includes windowless exhibition halls deeply cantilevered over moats and a 200 ft. conical tower, The £800,000 construction contract has been signed with Robert McAlpine, Ltd., Canadian subsidiary of Sir Robert McAlpine and Sons, Ltd. the London builders.
sq. ft.. providing space for 158 beds. Its frame will be formed with concrete bents, precast at facilities operated by the Public Works Department of American Samoa. These bents will span 48 ft. and will be spaced at 12 ft. centres.
Roofing will be cedar shakes, supported by solid cedar decking spanning between the precast concrete bents, and exterior walls will consist of framing made of California redwood. Insect screens and canvas storm shades will be used to permit a free flow of air through the open units of the building. The end and exterior walls will be finish- ed with board and batten, also of California redwood chosen because of its resistance to rot and termites.
Wide Range of Subjects for Roads Meeting
INTERNATIONAL research into highway construction and development and the pooling of information will form a major theme at the World Meeting on Roads in London next September. The meeting, sponsored by the Inter- national Road Federation, will be attended by about 5,000 delegates from nearly 100 countries.
In four concurrent sessions, delegates will discuss al- most every aspect of highway building and use and speak- ers from many parts of the world have been invited to contribute papers.
The attention which is being given in the 'A' Sessions to research documentation reflects the wide interest which has followed the setting up of the International Co-opera- tive Highway and Research Development Project by the International Road Federation in Washington, The pro- ject is designed to assess advances in highway research and to make the findings known through an international pool of scientific knowledge.
During the six-day conference. 'A' Sessions will cover a wide range of topics. They include the planning and building of highways with special reference to their effects on social, economic and industrial development: the na- tional and international task of training and education in highway matters; developments in traffic operations, high- way design and construction affecting road safety and the movement of traffic; and the financing of roads, both in developed and developing countries.
The meeting which begins on September 18, will take place in three major conference centres in the Kensing- ton area of London. The 'B' Sessions are being devoted to a study of major transcontinental and intercontinental
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