Louvred screen protecting bedroom window
64
Detail of the front elevation of the maisonettes
means of a cupboard located in front of the kitchen door. This cupboard also provides some screening to the access to a small lavatory.
The architects had considered a rear entrance to the kitchen yard, but during the course of construction
Books
The
Comprehensive Industrialised Building Systems Annual of 1965, edited by A.F.L. Deeson. (House Publications Ltd., 1 Cresswell Park, London, S.E.3, 48 shillings).
SECTION
This annual makes a praiseworthy effort to be the right thing at the right time, but falls a little short of the promise implicit in its title. In- dexed and comparative technical in- formation on 230 systems of building is an invaluable adjunct to the library of anyone interested in industrialised building, but in covering less than half of the number of systems in existence it is, at the least, immodest in claiming to be comprehensive
Nevertheless, it plays an important role in providing what is essentially a directory of industrialised building methods in such a form that the data may be easily and quickly assimilated. Each system occupies one page, and has been illustrated where possible either by plans or photographs.
D-D
this was abandoned at the owner's request on the grounds of security.
Another important feature of ac- commodation of this type is cross- ventilation. This is provided by means of a ceiling lowered to door- head height, thus allowing air to flow directly from the outside through a louvred screen
located over the doors.
On the ground floors, the location of two big windows opposite each other channels the flow of breezes across the living and dining area.
The small lavatory has flue ven- tilation, with direct air intake from outside by means of a horizontal duct. The variations of ceiling heights and floor levels are directed, according to the designers, "towards an enrichment of the inner space of each maisonette, as a challenge to the so obviously adverse environment."
Construction naturally is very simple and for reasons of stability a system of load bearing walls linked by reinforced concrete beams and slabs was chosen. These are defined in the drawings.
The text is limited to the salient features of each technique, allowing the reader to grasp the technical essentials at what is almost a glance, and the index has been arranged to permit reference to either the named system or the developer.
New Houses, by Penelope Whiting, ARIBA. (Architectural Press, London, 30 shillings).
Is the modern house, in the sense of one that is built to make the most of light and space. becoming too standardised? Looking through the excellent plans and illustrations in New Houses the reader may well be charmed by each in turn.
He becomes very conscious, how- ever, of the recognised approaches. What was still breathtaking just after the war is now taken for granted.
As a woman and an architect the author is aware of the home-making problems-varnishes that tend to flake off, bricks that develop efflorescence and pleads for attention to ma- terials and details at every stage.
Far East Architect & Builder July, 1965