The covered playground
BOYS' LAW
TEACHING RM
CLASS RM
REST RM,
CLASS RM.
CORRIDOR
PUPOSE RM.
CLASS RM
CLASS RM
CLASS RM
CLASS RM
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GYMNASIUM
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Typical floor plan
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in one single block and set back from the main road to give a feeling of spaciousness and stability. The site faces Man Fuk Road but has a wider frontage on the side of Princess Mar- garet Road. The limitations of this awkwardly-shaped site, measuring 23,790 sq ft, have been turned into architectural advantage by utilising it in different levels according to the land contour. Including the ground floor and the basement, the building has 11 levels in all. The main entrance is on the first floor level, facing Man Fuk Road and through the basketball court and the garden. Motor traffic to the school must approach from this road. A separate ramp runs under the playground and leads to a parking lot large enough for 24 cars.
In order to make available maxi- mum play area, the stairways are housed in two towers on each side of the building. On the external wall of one tower is engraved the school badge. A lift also serves all the floors. The classroom design is on a cen-
Far East BUILDER, August 1971
Top floor plan
are
tral corridor system. There are 6 class- rooms on a floor with an unpartition- ed area for reading or other activities. Laboratories and other rooms located on the 6th and 7th floors. On the top floor is the gymnasium with its roof supported by steel trusses over a span of 44 ft. A higher roof is provid- ed above the gymnasium with louvres in the side walls in order to provide a free flow of air. A gallery overlooking the multi-purpose gymnasium sur- rounds the area.
Below the covered playground is the 25-metre swimming pool; the changing rooms, stores and machine plants are in the basement. Heating facilities have been provided for round-the-year use of the pool.
All external walls of the building are finished with mosaic tiles so as to save maintenance costs. Columns, beams and staircase walls use white glazed mosaics and the window span drels yellow (unglazed) mosaics. White and yellow are the only two colours used for the elevational treatments.
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For internal finishing, mosaic tiles and dadoes with rounded corners are employed for easy cleaning and safety of students. Only special rooms and reading rooms are finished with vinyl tiles for better acoustics.
The main body of the building is emphasised by vertical lines of the columns, which are stopped by a wide horizontal band at the top and by the arches at the bottom. The external vertical fins covering the top-floor gymnasium theatre are topped by wide- eave parapets supported by exposed brackets.
The total cost of the project was about HK$2.8 million (US$466,000). The main contractors were Tak Son Construction Co. Sub-contractors and suppliers included:
Philips (H.K.) Ltd. stallations
electrical in-
Hitachi Elevator Engineering Co. (H.K.) Ltd. – lifts
Reiss Bradley & Co. Ltd. - pool filtration plant
Senior Loh -- waterproofing
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