Louvred ducts below window level
give a strong horizontal expression to
New Hong Kong University
Block
A N EIGHT-STOREY rectangular block, linked by pedestrian bridge at fourth floor level to a lecture theatre building, now houses the University of Hong Kong's Faculty of Medicine departments responsible for the teaching of preclinical subjects.
Called the Li Shu Fan Building, it is sited to the east of Sassoon Road and to the south of Pokfulam Road, Hong Kong, on an area formed by a steep narrow valley carrying a nullah that empties into the sea at Telegraph Bay.
The site was selected because of its proximity to the Queen Mary Hos- pital, where the clinical departments are located; thus concentrating the medical faculty into one locality and allowing for the centralisation of the administrative and library facilities which form the second stage of the faculty's development now in pro- gress on an adjacent site.
Despite its difficulties, the site, commanding a magnificent view to the south, presented advantages in vertical circulation and the discrete location of certain parts of the ac- commodation such as cadaver storage and animal housing.
L
174
I
PREPARATION
ROOM
2 STUDENT LABORATORY
3 ASSISTANT LECTURER
4 SENIOR LECTURER
5 SEMINAR
ROOM
• SECRETARY
7 PROFESSOR'S
• PROFESSORS
OFFICE LABORATORY
9 DEMONSTRATORS ROOM
10 DARK
ROOM
INSTRUMENT ROOM
12 DRUG
ROOM
13 ISOTOPE LABORATORY
14 REFRIGERATED ROOM
15 HOT LABORATORY
16 LAVATORY
17 STORE ROOM
18 LECTURE
19 ENTRANCE
20 CORRIDOR
THEATRE HALL
20
Li Shu Fan Building seen from lower down the valley to the south
The planner's original brief pro- vided for an annual intake of 100 students, making total of 300 students who will be using the facili- ties, and for about 50 staff.
20
a
5
6 7
13
14
19
Γ TT
Γ
19
18
--12:40 SEATS
GROUND
N
15
FLOOR PLAN
PHYSIOLOGY DEPARTMENT
The architectural form of the pro- ject is a large rectangular block con- taining the main laboratories and practical spaces, linked by a light bridge, spanning the drive-way, to a wedged-shaped structure, which ex- presses the function of the lecture theatres within.
The main building has a strong horizontal expression dictated by the column-to-column glazing and the horizontal louvred ducts below the windows. The elevations are relieved by changes of plane in the glazing; in the larger rooms glass is fixed to the face of the columns, while in the smaller rooms it is recessed between the columns.
Two Parts
On the south-east elevation the projecting animal house forms a semi-podium, which visually carries the building across the valley, as op- posed to "sitting" in it, and closes the vista up the valley with a com- manding climax. The building is in a peculiar situation, in that it may be viewed from a number of directions, particularly from above and from below, making it essential for the expression to be consistent and uni- fied.
The building is planned in two parts, to take advantage of the levels. Entrance direct from street level is gained to the lecture theatre building, from which access is also obtained by the bridge to the middle floor of the main building a plan which
Far East Architect & Builder May, 1963
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