world news
Big Post Office Block in Wellington
CONSTRUCTION will begin this year on one of New Zea- land's biggest buildings the new postal centre and ad- ministration building for the Post Office in Waterloo Quay, Wellington. The block will be a prototype for similar centres in Christchurch and Auckland.
With more than 300.000 sq. ft. of floor space above ground, it will be 208 ft. high and 280 ft. long. The five lower floors will be a full 135 ft. wide, and the eight upper floors, in the form of a long tower block, will be 60 ft. wide.
The site is on an old harbour-front reclamation, as is so much of Wellington, and special foundations will be needed. Special earthquake precautions will be built in. Computers at the Tokyo University Earthquake
Perspective of the Wellington General Post Office
Research Institute will be used to calculate the seismic resistance required. It is believed that well-proven Jap- anese techniques of using steel sections as reinforcement for concrete colums and beams are likely to be adopted.
World Precast Concrete Congress
MORE than 1,500 delegates from all parts of the world are expected to attend the Fifth International Congress of the Precast Concrete Industry which will be held in London from May 21 to 27, 1966.
The opening session of the congress will take place in the newly enlarged Royal Festival Hall, and all working sessions at the Royal Garden Hotel, Kensing- ton which, when completed later this year, will be Lon- don's most modern hotel. The sessions of the Con- gress will cover a wide range of aspects of the design, manufacture and application of precast concrete, and particular emphasis will be given to the results of re- cent research and development work.
English,
Simultaneous interpretation will be provided in the three official languages of the congress French and German.
Far East Architect & Builder May, 1965
An artist's impression of the proposed new British Embassy offices in Madrid, The building is designed by Mr. W. S. Bryant. MBE, ARIBA, assistant chief architect of the Ministry of Public Building and Works, in association with Senor Blanco Soler, of Madrid.
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The circular building will be raised on stilts to give off- street access and provide
The car parking.
site is in congested area and all the ancillary accommodation will be housed in the podium base on which the building stands. Construction will be of reinforced concrete, the three upper floors being faced with pinkish limestone and grey Spanish granite. The podium will be covered with exposed aggregate paving slabs.
Hetma-Laing S.A.. an associated company of John Laing and Son, Ltd., London. are the contractors. The work will take two years.
A full programme of film shows, exhibitions and visits to precast concrete factories is being prepared and there will also be facilities for delegates to take part in post-congress study tours in several parts of the country.
A booklet giving preliminary details of the con- gress in the three official languages, is now available from the Organising Secretary. Terminal House, Gros- venor Gardens, London S.W.1.
Awards by American Concrete Institute
DR. FRANCO LEVI, of Venice, Italy, was made an honor- ary member of the American Concrete Institute at the institute's recent awards luncheon in San Francisco.
Professor Levi is a leading authority on reinforced and prestressed concrete, particularly shell structures, and is widely known for his leadership of the Comité Europeen du Béton (the European Concrete Committee). President of the CEB since 1957, his work and guidance have been responsible in large measure for the develop- ment and acceptance of international specifications for He the design and construction of concrete structures. is a member of the ACI-CEB Collaboration Committee and represents the CEB on the Liaison Committee of the International Civil Engineering Association.
Also awarded honorary membership was Mr. Dou- glas McHenry, director of development, Research and Development Laboratories, Portland Cement Associa- tion, Skokie, Ill.
The institute's Alfred E. Lindau Award for "out-
to standing contributions
reinforced concrete design practice", was given to Mr. Felix Candela, of Mexico. Mr. Candela has gained world renown for his shell structures. Since 1953, he has taught at the University of Mexico's School of Architecture.
Conference on Industrialized
Building
THE International Council of Building Research is hold- ing an International Conference on Industrialized Build- ing in Copenhagen in August. After consultation with the international body, the Building Science Forum of Australia has arranged an Australian conference on the
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