and owing to the large amount of com- mercial area required, the shopping mall is designed to face inwards and is organised on a vertical dimension. The mall is envisaged as having a festive at- mosphere and the colour and charm of an open bazaar, organised vertically in an 'open well' which allows visual con- tact with all the floors of the shopping
areas.
Vertical circulation is mainly by es- calators which are located on opposite sides of this open well in order to generate traffic for the shops. As an added attraction, a glass elevator is provided adjacent to the open well, linking all shopping floors and giving a focal point of interest.
To attract customers into the 'open bazaar', two major outdoor foyers are strategically placed at the corners of the building complex on the street level to allow people to wander easily into the centre of the mall.
It is anticipated that the commer- cial area accommodation will include department stores, banks, restaurants, outdoor cafes, discotheques, travel agencies and shops catering to both tourists and local residents.
The hotel
Occupying the second basement. ground floor and fourth to 17th floors, the hotel will have 900 guest- rooms, including mini-suites and two- storey executive suites on the top floor. Sixty-five per cent of the rooms will have a full or partial view of the harbour, and the facilities offered will meet first class international standards.
Apart and separate from the foyers for the shopping mall, a grand pedes- trian entrance is prominently located fronting the major thoroughfare of Nathan Road. A private vehicular ap- proach is provided at the eastern side, complete with taxi stand, touring bus parking area and a service ramp which is separated from the traffic of the vehicular approach.
The hotel lobby is at ground level adjoining the check-in desk, coffee shop and cocktail lounge. It also com- mands a visual contact with the 'open well' of the shopping mall.
The main dining rooms of the hotel are located on the fourth and on the 17th floors. Grill room, function room, main dining room and cafe are grouped together on the fourth floor and are open to two landscaped gar- dens of 15,000 sq. ft in area. The sup- per club and bar lounge are on the 17th floor which commands a magni- ficent view of Hong Kong. On the same floor are a roof garden with out-
PODIDI.
GUEST ROOMS
PLAZA
SH
SHOP
3.33 13
Cross section
door bar, swimming pool and sauna bath facilities.
Hotel traffic is handled by six high- speed elevators, plus a glass elevator similar to the one in the shopping mall which will link the street floor level, the fourth floor level and the 17th floor level where the entertainment areas are located. This elevator is placed on the exterior of the building's Nathan Road frontage and will give its passengers a dramatic visual experience of Hong Kong.
All services for the shopping mall and hotel take place on the first base- ment level. Four service elevators are designated for the shops and three ser- vice elevators for the hotel. In addition five separate sets of staircases serve as an additional means of circulation.
The services areas of the hotel. most of the mechanical spaces, storage area, general food preparation area and room service kitchen are on the second basement floor. Other dining areas of
the hotel are provided with individual kitchen facilities, adjacent to their re- spective dining rooms.
Structure
The building will be a reinforced concrete structure. The hotel portion, which forms the tower of the com- plex, comprises a bearing wall and slab system which is designed to suit the cellular organization of the rooms.
The shopping mall portion, form- ing the base of the complex, has a post and flat slab system designed to pro- vide maximum head room and flexi- bility for the lower commercial rental area. The entire superstructure and basements will be carried on a caisson pile system.
The architectural facade of the building reflects the cellular organiza- tion of the guest rooms and the wall bearing structural system of the tower. Particular emphasis is given to the shopping mall and hotel entrances.
Far East BUILDER, July 1970
11