§ 34. Mr. BENNETT-GOLDNEYasked the hon. Member for St. George's-in-the-East, as representing the First Commissioner of Works, if he will ascertain and say whether any designs for the elevations of the new College of Art at South Kensington, the new Industrial Museum, and the new extensions of the Admiralty buildings have been prepared by the permanent staff of the Office of Works; whether these designs may now be placed in the Tea Room, so that Members may have an opportunity of seeing the different styles of architecture which have been adopted; 1467 and if he will say whether the estimates of £65,000, £45,000, and £25,000, sanctioned by Parliament for these three public buildings, were prepared without any designs having been submitted or approved?
Mr. WEDGWOOD-BENN (Lord of the Treasury)Designs have not been prepared, either of the elevation of the new College of Art or of the new extension of the Admiralty buildings. An elevation for the new Industrial Museum has been prepared and can be exhibited in the Tea Room, if desired. The estimates were made from sketch plans prepared in the Department, but not settled in detail.
§ 36. Mr. BENNETT-GOLDNEYasked the number and names of the qualified architects permanently employed by the Office of Works, as well as the dates when they first joined that office; whether all or any of them are fellows of the Royal Institute of British Architects, and, if either, the dates when they became fellows?
§ Mr. W. BENNThe total number of architects of all grades on the establishment of the Office of Works is sixty-one. Of these three are fellows, twenty-four associates, and four licentiates of the Royal Institute of British Architects. The three fellows attained their rank in 1891, 1906, and 1912, respectively.
§ 37. Mr. BENNETT-GOLDNEYasked at what cost in thousands of pounds a public building is regarded officially by the Office of Works as a large public building and a small public building; if he will say at the same time whether the new College of Art, which is estimated to cost £65,000, and has been officially classified as a small public building, is to be a three-storey building; and if he will say how many square feet of ground this new building is to cover?
§ Mr. W. BENNThe Board has no fixed scale under which a building is classified as a large or a small public building. As plans for the new College of Art have not yet been definitely settled, it is premature to say how many stories it may have. The area of the site is about 16,630 square feet, which will be covered by the buildings with the exception of the necessary areas for light and air.