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2,000 to attend UIA congress
Britain will be making some interesting contri- butions at the tenth Congress of the Union Internationale des Architects (UIA), to be held in Buenos Aires this month.
These include a paper by Mr Eric Lyons, a leading housing architect, a photographic display showing a selection of current housing develop ments in Britain, and four films which will be included in the Third Cinema Festival of Archi- tecture, running concurrently with the Congress. Other countries taking part in this festival include France, the Federal Republic of Germany, Canada and Italy.
The congress will be a major international gather- ing of architects, and it is expected that more than
2,000 architects from all over the world will attend. The sponsoring organisation, UIA, is made up of senior architectural institutions of many count- ries, including Algeria, Nigeria, Russia and various European countries. The theme of the congress is Housing of Social Interest.
Of the nine housing schemes included in the British display seven have been built by local authorities for renting to members of the lower income groups. The other two schemes were built by private house developers, Span and Wates for sale to members of the middle income groups. The population density of the schemes range from 184 persons and 70 dwellings per acre (one acre = 0.4 hectares) in Westminster City Council's Lil- lington Street development in central London, to just over five dwellings per acre on the Span deve- lopment designed by Eric Lyons.
End in sight for Sydney's Opera House
Final stage of one of the world's most ambi- tious architectural undertakings, the Sydney Op- era House is underway. The third stage, it in- volves the major structural work inside the audi- toriums, foyers and other 900 rooms.
Stage 1 in the construction was building the base to podium level and Stage 2, the most difficult, was the erection of the soaring roof shells. Completion of the interior is expected by the end of 1972.
Completed, the building will house a concert hall for 2,750, an opera theatre for 1,500, a drama
Recent harbour view of opera house
theatre for 600, a chamber music and cinema hall for 450, a rehearsal-recording studio for 120 players a reception recital hall, and other facilities. All halls will have separate public spaces and will be suitable for simultaneous use.
Acoustics have posed vast problems which are being solved progressively by consultant Dr. Wilhelm Jordan, from Denmark. He visits the site about three times a year and has a permanent representative working with the architects.
To achieve correct reverberation in the halls, Dr. Jordan carried out tests on one-tenth scale models of the halls using different surfaces and shapes. The concert hall, which has vertically rising perimeter walls and a radial type ceiling, has suspended saucer reflectors over the orch- estra area as another acoustice aid.
Another problem on which architects are work- ing is the construction of the four massive glass walls which will close the northern (harbour) and southern end of the two main shell clusters. The walls, about 70 ft. high and 50 ft. wide will hang from the shell ribs. The problem is to design a frame which will support the glass aesthetically and enable the wall to withstand winds up 100 miles an hour.
Present thinking is for a steel frame made in a series of mullions hanging from the ribs. Many types of material, including plywood, aluminium and concrete were considered before steel was adopted.
Stockholm service flats for handicapped
What is thought to be Europe's first block of service flats for the handicapped has been open- ed at Svedmyra in Stockholm.
The building includes 55 specially designed flats for the handicapped, 24 ordinary flats and a youth hostel for 108 guests. There are also a self- service store, specialized shops, a restaurant, med- ical consultation rooms and a gymnasium.
Far East BUILDER, October 1969
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