The following is a general descrip- tion of interesting features in the building: -
Externally the finish is generally granolithic with Verdi Alpi and Arebescato marble facings to the lower storey. The windows which are in anodised aluminium of special design are glazed with heat resisting glass and special precautions were taken by means of vertical and hori zontal sunbreakers to shield the building from the sun, thereby elim inating to a great extent the use of blinds and other similar protective aids.
The floors in general office areas are mainly Vinyl tiling but all private offices and special rooms such as training rooms, conference rooms. board rooms etc. have been equipped with wall to wall carpeting on foam rubber underfelt associated with specially selected curtaining.
Joinery throughout is in polished teak except in the case of doors which are finished in polished Sapele mahogany. Extensive use has been made throughout of Japanese paper and Lionide as wall finish, and special decorative wall features have been introduced such as the "Shell" motifs in the staircase halls designed by Don Foster of London and the Venetian glass mural on the first floor by Cheong Lai Thong, a well- known Kuala Lumpur artist.
To achieve maximum flexibility of operation and ease of control, a central station type chilled water air. conditioning system was installed
with separate plants to serve the theatrette in the basement and the restaurant on the 14th floor to enable these units to be economically air- conditioned outside normal office hours.
The system basically consists of two 200 h.p. centrifugal water chill- ing plants installed in the basement, cach water chilling plant incorporat- ing single stage centrifugal refrigera- tion condensing equipment feeding refrigerant into a heat exchanger through which water is circulated and cooled to 46°F at the rate of approximately 1000 gallons per minute.
This chilled water is then piped through ring mains and risers to the room air handling units throughout
THE HONG KONG & FAR EAST BUILDER
the building, each of these air handl- ing units having its own air filters, blower unit and cooling coil.
An adequate quantity of fresh air is also piped to each of the air handling units and to achieve better humidity and temperature control this fresh air is first precooled in primary air-conditioners before cir- culation to the air handling units.
The air handling units themselves are generally located around the perimeter of the building and are built into consols which themselves form an integral part of the interior design. The complete system is fully automatic in operation and, for each air handling unit, there is an adjust- able thermostat to enable individual occupants to set the temperature in their offices according to the level individually desired. The main cen- trifugal refrigeration system is like- wise fully automatic and is equipped with electronic control gear.
The lighting installation in the building was carefully designed to meet all the requirements of efficient artificial lighting, special attention being paid to the quantity and quality of light, colour harmony and the brightness ratio between working surfaces and adjacent backgrounds.
Its layout is flexible and permits re-arrangement with minimum dis- turbance to either wiring or ceiling construction. Taken together, the entire interior with its furniture and walls of light tones and the electrical layout as designed produce a scien- tifically light conditioned entity where the brightest surfaces are
never more
than three times as bright as the working surfaces, the latter, in turn. being not more than three times brighter than the darkest
areas.
serves
The facade of the building is floodlit at night, this being controlled by a time switch arrangement. The telephone system which throughout the entire building is run throughout in a system of under floor ducts which gives maximum flexibility when alterations to the location of outlets are required. In addition to the normal electrical work, the building is equipped with an automatic electrically operated master clock system, fire alarm sys- tem and luminous call bell system.
VOLUME 15, NUMBER 2
A 150 KVA emergency generator has been installed in the basement as a protection against power fail- ures. This
generator provides power for lighting to all staircases and corridors, key offices, water pumps and one lift.
Three high speed passenger lifts are provided near the front of the building, each with a capacity for 11 persons and running at 720 ft. per minute. These lifts incorporate the latest group control system which enables them to anticipate and adjust their operation continually to traffic conditions within the
building.
A heavy duty service lift of 2000 lb. capacity is provided at the rear of the building to serve all floors and, in addition, a bank of three mail lifts with common receiver and despatch stations is located in the centre of the building. These mail lifts incorporate an automatic dis charging system and ensure a rapid distribution of mail. files and other documents throughout the building.
As a further convenience, a waste paper chute has been provided with hopper openings at each floor level discharging into a collection cham- ber off the rear entrance hall, the outlet of the chute being provided with a flap operated by a fusible link to isolate the chute in the event of fire in the collection chamber.
The water for the building and its equipment is supplied by three separate systems. Water direct from the mains supplies all outlets up to the fourth floor whilst a completely automatic pressure system located on the fifth floor serves all floors up to the ninth floor with a similar system on the 10th floor serving the remaining floors up to the roof and including the cooling towers on the roof. This system allows very nearly constant pressure at all outlets throughout the building and pro- vides a very adequate storage reserve.
From the commencement of exca- vation to the handover of the build- ing took approximately three and a half years of which 18 months were absorbed by excavation, construction of foundations and retaining walls.
The various contractors, principal suppliers of materials and others who contributed towards the success of this project were:
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