Murray Building seen from the upper level of Garden Road
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Ak FRAM
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WHILE the volume of work for Hong Kong architects and engineers in pri vate practice has been subject to boom, recession and boom again over the past few years, work on govern- ment buildings has maintained steady growth. There has been no de- cline in public building, the planning and construction of resettlement and low-cost housing projects has been continuous, and expenditure on gov- ernment buildings has now reached a level of about HK$170 million per
annum.
In parallel with this growth the public works department itself has expanded considerably in recent years, and a shortage of office space in which to accommodate the planning and administrative staff has accordingly be.
come more acute.
To overcome this shortage plans were laid in 1963 for the construction of a large, centrally located, office block in which the various offices of the public works departments, scatter- ed in various parts of the colony, could be centralised. This block Murray Building is now complete and almost fully occupied.
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With a floor area of approximately 230,000 sq. ft., Murray Building stands on what was once part of the Murray Barracks detention centre, Hong Kong Island. It is sited close to the Lower Peak Tram Station serving the Peak and Mid-levels areas and close
AMERICAN CONSULAT GENERAL
SCALE
0 50 100 200
300
Key plan
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ก
OWER ALBERT, RO
CENTRAL GOVT. OFFICE
MUTI -STO
CAR PAR
GARDEN
ROAD
GOVT. OFF
POSSIBLE
BLOCKS 1 CAR PARK
COTTON TREE
400
500 FEET
Far East BUILDER, August 1970
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