The suggestion that the Hutt City original national award winning Town Hall and Horticultural Hall may be demolished is being heard with great concern as far away as Auckland.
The building should be retained at any cost. The architecture is
unique, designed in its day to the international modern style way ahead of its
time for a New Zealand City. As part of a recognised collective group of
buildings of architectural merit, they emphasise that the Hutt City is mature
and has a national identity.
It is strongly suggested
that the exterior shell be retained, maybe modified internally, and as needed,
grow through subsequent structures be added in a form compatible to the
original. Internal spaces can be changed to meet current demands.
What relevance do I have
to Hutt City, particularly these two halls?
•
My affiliation to the area was
attending Epuni Primary School for my first two years of education.
•
My family owned commercial property
close by on High Street.
•
The Manukau City Centre, (NZ’s
largest City before the Auckland regional merger), had a similar brief when I
designed their administration and Council Chamber building – like the Hutt City
to provide a new city with a focal structure of architectural merit to form the
new hub for the area.
•
As the architect of an historic
Building - West Plaza in downtown Auckland, awarded by the New Zealand institute
of Architects for enduring architecture.
After living abroad and
practising architecture in the US for 28 years, one sees and values the extent
to which historic buildings contribute and balance the mix of architecture. For
example the Marin Civic Centre by Frank Lloyd Wright is a national historic
monument in California USA, and while it might not function to the efficiencies
of a new building today, it remains an operating structure of world renown.
To visit, enjoy, and
appreciate the architectural style and ambiance illustrates a reason for
historic designation. (It will remain fully operational as the seat of local
government, but is preserved as part of the history of the State of California
and the USA).
New Zealand needs to preserve its historic buildings, especially
public halls that form part of a civic precinct which are iconic buildings, and
that have ready use and access by the public. This applies more critically to
relatively new cities more recently developed like Hutt City.
Sincerely
Neville H Price Registered Architect
