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Salient. Official Newspaper of the Victoria University Students' Association. Vol 41 No. 18. July 24 1978

The Feasibility Study goes Public — What's New Behind Hunter

page 11

The Feasibility Study goes Public

What's New Behind Hunter

Drawing of Hunter building and proposed new buildings

Introduction

Today (Monday 24 July) the University Council is meeting to receive a feasibility study on the potential future of the Hunter Building. This study was commissioned last year by the Friends of Hunter. The comprehensive proposals call for the construction of two tower blocks, the effective rotation by 180° of the existing Hunter Building and the planting of a statue of imposing dimensions depicting our namesake Queen Victoria in a casual pose (see cover).

Traffic is to be re-routed in past Kirk, round the front of the old Hunter building and out where it presently comes in at the bottom of the Hunter lawn. Paved, grassed and landscaped areas abound. The facade of the old Hunter building is retained with a new interior. The new buildings have been designed with an eye to complementing the present structure, but are in concrete with an extensive window area (earthquake regulations come down heavy on brick buildings).

The study is a remarkable example of what can happen when someone sits down and actually makes a real attempt to plan the development of the campus in line with its already existent advantages. Not that everyone should get carried away. If the proposal is adopted, it will mean that while most of us languish away in Easter-field, New Kirk, Cotton, Von Zedlitz, etc., only music and law students, and the Vice Chancellor and the Staff Club will be reaping the benefits of the new complex. And the cost? At May 1978 rates: $9,470,000.

The Proposal

Elements Retained

The architects' proposal retains the east facade and entry stairway of the original block, the Library wing exterior and interior, and the east and part south facades of the Physics wing, together with the roof areas of each. This would be known as Old Hunter (see diagram A).

In attempting to complement the existing "Gothic Revival" forms of the building the new interior floors, columns, beams and walls have very little effect on the exterior walls, windows, roofs and stonework. Ventilator towers and dormer windows are also re-introduced on the roof to provide extra lighting and ventilation.

In the library, the main internal space remains relatively uncluttered, and a light wooden and steel mezzanine is built to facilitate extra access to the gallery.

The internal spaces of the Arts and Physics areas except the central entry and stairs area are completely rearranged to suit new requirements. Floor to ceiling heights on the ground and first floors are retained.

While the exterior of Old Hunter is retained a new reinforced concrete shell is built inside it. This, together with concrete floors, provides the necessary earth-quake-resistent strength. The new roof is formed using timber trusses with the possibility of recycled slates. One of the most significant alterations to the Old Hunter area is the introduction of a new floor, to be lit largely from dormer windows in the ceiling.

Drawing of a site plan for Kelburn

page 12

Externally the proposals include re-landscaping of the northern and eastern spaces of the site in order to recognise the quality and value of the facades abutting them as well as to better fit them into their changed use in the new Hunter group. West of the restructured buildings, courts and partly enclosed volumes are constructed to match the new western orientation of entry and circulation. The Chemistry/Music wing is pulled down, although many of the building elements are reused in the replacement building.

Diagram of library, arts and physics departments

Planning and Forms

The architects have been struck by the vertical and horizontal clarity of Old Hunter's circulation patterns (compared to the rabbit warren in New Kirk this isn't surprising) and this has been retained with an altered focus. Externally that focus is turned through 180 degrees by means of a new foyer joining the central stairs and the introduction of two new courts alongside. The main Hunter corridor becomes a cloister with windows between substantial columns.

The northern lawn court is generally grassed and planted, and is linked to the landscaped area to the north by means of grassed steps in the gap between Robert Stout and the library. The southern paved court is partially covered, with dense planting in the open corners. This space is not fully enclosed, but is intended to be as nearly as possible an all weather pedestrian focus, in which (according to the study) "staff, students and the public pass, meet and converse". Nice idea, that.

The new vehicle access system sports the familiar "paved and landscaped" look, intended to make it pleasing to both pedestrians and vehicles. It eliminates the present drive past the north end of Hunter, which now directly fronts onto the lawn. The study stresses that each element of the external change at ground level is an essential part of the reversal of focus "on which the proposals hinge". Says the report, "From Kelburn Parade it is the very obliquity of the Hunter group, in contrast with the long run of the parallel facades either side of it, which skillfully enhanced, gives it its interest and advantage."

New Buildings

In addition to the restructured areas, two new buildings are proposed. The smaller one consists of a five storey block joining and opening into the Old Hunter central stairs area. This is the Lecture Tower. It also separates and opens onto the two new courts and rites to a height of a little above the Old Hunter ridges.

The larger new building stands in the area of the present Chemistry/Music wing, next to New Kirk, and is called New Hunter. It is in two parts; the taller western section being of seven stories and the lower eastern section of six stories. The existing bridge to Kirk is replaced with a two-level covered connection (see diagram B). Because vehicles must pass under this it cannot be extended to any other levels, although there is covered access at ground and basement levels.

Diagrams of Hunter building

page 13 page 14

Diagram of Kirk building bridges

Robert Stout gets a new roof in keeping with the other buildings. This is not necessary but will go some way towards making the building more a part of the complex.

The whole area outside the present front of Hunter is landscaped and paved, and extra parking (needed because the parks outside Robert Stout will go) is provided along the Salamanca Road embankment.

The Hunter lawn is landscaped right up to the library facade, and plonk in the middle of it is placed the Queen Victoria statue, "relocated from where it languishes in the median strip between Kent and Cambridge Terraces." The study goes on to say, "The link between the statue and Victoria University, both commemorating her 60 year reign, is both proper and real, and the city has not been able to provide a suitable location since Post Office Square opposite Queen's Wharf gates, and the original location of the statue, was done away with." The Kelburn Parade edge of the lawn is given a denser planting, "to create a greater sense of enclosure to the grassed space, statue and window."

The drive through system is not a drag circuit, as demonstrated both by the paving and its irregularity (see diagram C). Never-theless, nowhere is it less than 14 feet in unobstructed width.

Summary of Cost

Area Cost
Old Hunter 64,673 sq ft (6010.4 sq m) $3,910,000
Lecture Tower 13,000 sq ft (1208.2 sq m) $1,130,000
New Hunter 57,720 sq ft (5364.3 sq m) $4,330,000
Related Siteworks $100,000
Totals 135,393 sq ft (12582 sq m) $9,470,000

Says the study, "While other factors also have some influence on the relative costs of the buildings, the cost analysis, both in the above summary and in the detailed breakdown, reveals the economic value of the proposal to retain parts of the Old Hunter buildings." In fact, the study suggests, retaining the facade will itself save $160,000, in addition to its historic and aesthetic value.

Analysis

It is difficult to say what the general reaction to the study will be. The architects have taken a bold step in producing such a grand scheme, and it will not pass unnoticed at Council that the reversal of focus of the Hunter building, which is central to the whole proposal, involves the necessary construction of the two new buildings. Quite apart from any consideration of the merits of the scheme, the university must look very carefully at whether it needs the extra space. Roll estimates for the next ten years do not show a marked increase, partly due to the fact that the population of tertiary aged people is entering the post-war baby boom decline (sorry about that).

The study itself is founded on one major faulty assumption. In shifting the law library back to the Old Hunter building it goes against the comprehensive attempt of the main library (supported by the university) to gather as much as possible of the library facilities in the university under one roof. Considering that law students would also have all their lectures in the complex the division between law and the rest of the campus would become even more acute, and that is something not to be encouraged.

While there is good reason for each department to contain itself within a specific area, it is unfortunate that the proposed new complex, which in many respects has distinct advantages over every other building on campus, should not be for more general use.

Although hew parking areas have been created, they will only increase the total parks available by three. This is not a problem easily solved, but students will recognise that the proposal does not take into account the growing demand for student parking on or near the campus.

Diagram of Kelburn Parade entrance and parking

And the statue? Perhaps the university's history is linked with that of Queen Victoria and various of her monuments. Is that relevant today? Some people might think the statue charming, or fun, but many others will consider it ugly, and an unwelcome symbol of an empire now almost gone and certainly not to be admired. But then again, those who wander into a toilet cubicle with five minutes to fill and find the walls already covered will have something else to break their pen nibs on now. Or is that the plan?

Simon Wilson

Drawing of Hunter building from the South