also provides for a traffic circulatory system and mass transport system adequate for a population of four mil- lion. The present population is nearly two million.
The report states that the venture will be a joint one between Government and private enterprise, calling for "maximum private capital participation".
NOT EARTHQUAKE PROOF
MOST tall buildings in Taiwan would not stand earth- quakes, a Japanese architect warned last month.
Dr. Wataru Kato, vice president of Japan Architec- ture Society, said that both Taiwan and Japan were in the same earthquake area in the western Pacific, and should include devices against earthquakes in tall buildings.
Dr. Kato, with 12 other architects, building con- tractors, and government officials, toured Taipei, Tainan and Kaohsiung to inspect tall buildings in the three major cities.
MORE 20-STOREY BLOCKS
Two more 20-storey blocks will be constructed shortly at the Ngau Tau Kok Low-Cost Housing Estate in Kowloon, Hong Kong.
The two blocks will be situated in Area "A" of the estate north of Ngau Tau Kok Road. They will provide accommodation for some 9,000 people. The contract for the project will be the third and final one to be carried out in this part of the estate.
Area "A" of the estate will eventually accommodate about 24,000 people. Work on the two new blocks is expected to start in April. They should be ready for occupation in February 1967.
FURNITURE DESIGN CONTEST
ARCHITECTURAL and interior design students throughout the Philippines are eligible to take part in a furniture design contest launched by
by Bayanihan Industrial Cooperative, Manila.
Contestants are asked to submit designs for a living room furniture set, a dining room or an office suite. Prizes of P500, P300 and P150 will be awarded. Students must accompany their entries with: "a brief explanation of the design, aesthetic and functional characteristics of the design, raw material specifications and estimated manufacturing cost."
ACOUSTICS EXPERT ARRIVES
AN American acoustics expert, Professor Robert B. Newman, is visiting Kuala Lumpur and Singapore this month under the auspices of the educational and cultural exchange programme of the State Department.
A part-time lecturer at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and Harvard University, Professor Newman was consultant on acoustical problems during the construction of the Singapore National Theatre.
During his present stay he will lecture on architec- tural acoustics at the Singapore Polytechnic.
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Frontal view of the Singapore National Theatre, erected in King George V Park. The building, now complete, was described in the February 1964 issue of Hong Kong and Far East Builder. Architect is Mr. Alfred H.K. Wong.
This mural by Japanese architect, Mr. H. Okazaki, is a feature of a new showroom and sales office at the North Point premises of Jebsen Motors, Volkswagen's Hong Kong agents. The mural is part of a remodelling carried out by the office of Eric Cumine, architect, whose team comprised Pat Cumine, Addi Lee and Okazaki. The remodelling cost over HK$100,000.
M$15 M. DEVELOPMENT PROGRAMME
A NEW general hospital, post offices, schools, police stations, road improvements and water supply extensions are planned under a MS15 million development pro- gramme to be carried out this year by the Negri Sembilan (Malaya) Public Works Department.
First stage of the new hospital will cost $8 million. Tenders will be called in July. Four new comprehensive schools are to be started at Seremban, Tanjong Ipoh. Bahau and Astana Raja. A $1 million secondary school will be built at Sikamat and a $400,000 rural continuation school will be erected at Kuala Klawang.
Improvements to roads linking the major towns in the State will cost over $1 million and $3.3 million will be spent on the Sungei Linggi and Kuala Klawang water supply schemes.
ARCHITECTS AUTHORISED
SEVEN names have been added to the Register of Authorised Architects in Hong Kong, according to last month's Government Gazette.
They are: Carolle Wong Choi-fong. Edwin Sun Yik-wan, Raymond Ching Yat-pang. Doo Kwok-chuen, Lo Chuen-cho, Wong Hong and Leung Yee.
TAIPEI CITY OFFICES
A NEW ten-storey city government building is planned by the Taipei Administration. It will probably be built on an 8,000 sq. yd. site in Chungshan North Road. land is already owned by the City Government.
The
The ground floor will be for car parking and the upper floors will house bureaus and departments now scattered throughout the city. Construction is estimated to cost between NT$24 and $30 million.
HOSPITAL EXPANSION
AN eleven-storey building costing 21 million baht is to be constructed on a 15-rai plot behind the Siriraj Hospital, Thonburi, Thailand, under an expansion plan announced by the hospital authorities.
The first three floors will be used for administration while more than 400 beds will be installed in the higher floors. The existing building has 1,500 beds.
OBITUARY
MR. ROBERT A.C. BROWN, chief building surveyor of the Buildings Ordinance Office, Public Works Department, Hong Kong, died in London on February 16, after a protracted illness. He was 41.
Far East Architect & Builder March, 1965