CIVIL ENGINEERING AND PUBLIC WORKS
Design and Construction of
PASIR PANJANG B POWER STATION
RCHITECTURAL problems in plan-
A
ning a thermal power station are virtually non-existent since the shape of the buildings is determined by the positioning of the various items of plant and therefore the architect is in the main not an interested party at this stage.
The siting of the buildings in rela- tion to one another is also dictated by the engineering function. The archi- tect is given plans, elevations and sec- tions of steelwork and his task is to clothe the frames as successfully as possible and in a way which will per- mit the assembly of plant at the ear- liest possible date.
In the case of the Pasir Panjang B Station, Singapore, which was re- cently brought into operation, the existence of an A station posed a fur- ther problem. The A station was erected some 12 years ago and its elevational finish is all in facing brick. The effect is not unpleasant but is
heavy and monumental by present day standards of power stations.
The B station is linked to the A station by a connecting bridge so a treatment that would blend the two buildings was required. This occa- sioned the use of sand faced facing brick instead of the more often used cladding.
In an effort to attain a less massive looking structure for the turbine hall, a range of aluminium glazing and cladding has been used for the north elevation and the gables.
The proportion of solid to void is 50-50 and has provided a satisfactory light intensity internally. Entry of sunlight is excluded by the use of ver- tical cheaters and extended window transomes. The cheaters at the gable are placed at an angle of 55 degrees to combat morning and afternoon sun.
The south elevation consists of a massive brick wall which is almost entirely obscured by the external boil-
ers, and therefore design problems did not exist.
The switchgear building directly to the north and in front of the turbine hall is constructed of heavy duty re- inforced concrete floors, engineering brick inner partitions and sand faced brick external walls. This building was extremely difficult to treat extern- ally due to the fact that the front and rear elevations were to have no win- dows nor doors.
In the centre of the building how- ever there is a staircase and glass blocks have been used at this point to begin the break up of the brick mono- tony. The remainder has been reliev- ed by projecting facing brick fins and by dividing the panels formed by the fins into three by the use of smaller aluminium fins. The panels are faced with a poly resinous compound con- taining ground glass.
The general idea was to produce a similar theme to that of the turbine
Aerial view of the Pasir Panjang A and B power stations
Far East Architect & Builder February, 1966
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