Ryder Hall was built as an assembly hall and chapel for New Plymouth Boys' High School in 1970-1972. The hall was designed by Taranaki Education Board architect Desmond White.
A commemorative bronze tablet (to be later installed in the new assembly hall) was unveiled by the Chief Justice, Sir Richard Wild, on Sunday 13 April 1968 as part of the school's 85th Jubilee celebrations. The hall was officially opened by Prime Minister J. R. Marshall on 20 October 1972.
The building was constructed at the same time as the neighbouring Alexander Block, that was also designed by White. The total cost of the project was $300,000, with the cost of the hall estimated to be $196,000.
Desmond White was born in London in 1924 and was the Taranaki Education Board's architect from 1955 until 1970; rather unfortunately, White died before construction of the hall was completed.
Ryder Hall is probably New Plymouth's best example of mid-century 'Modernist Brutalism' and is radically different from most school halls constructed during the same period. The large curved, bush hammered concrete wall, is a striking feature of the building visible from Coronation Avenue, the main southern route into New Plymouth.
The building featured in Julia Gatley's influential book on Modern New Zealand Architecture, Long Live the Modern: New Zealand’s New Architecture, 1904-1984, published in 2008.
The building is also listed by DOCOMOMO in their register of significant Modern New Zealand Buildings.
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