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LESSONS FROM
FROM TYPHOON "MARY" A litter of wrecked street signs and broken trees was the most obvious evidence left by typhoon Mary in its path across the Colony, and if there are any lessons still to be learnt by Hong Kong architects. from typhoon conditions Mary gave little help.
Noting this the Hong Kong Society of Architects says that landslides caused much less de- struction and loss of life than those which came with the continuous rain of the early months of 1959. Reports of collapses of buildings were equally meagre, and although stricter regulations governing wind load design have been considered desirable. the older buildings of Hong Kong seem to have withstood the onslaught of 100-knot gusts with admirable resistance. Man's tions in fact have faced the attacks of Nature with more success than the creations of Nature herself.
crea-
The tentacles of neon, steel and aluminium advertisements have not yet spread to the wastes of Wong Tai Sin and Kwun Tong, where, devoid alike of the targets of flash- ing lights and spreading trees, Mary's passing-by left little sign.
Three things seem clear. Although the rash of advertisements in the streets of Hong Kong constitutes one of its major tourist attractions, giving glowing colour to otherwise drab slums and effectively covering equally drab buildings. the signs should not be a continual threat to life and limb by reason of their structural instability, hanging as they do like a forest of swords of Damocles over the heads of innocent passers-by.
And whilst there is no surfeit of trees in the built-up areas, particu larly in Kowloon, the selection of new trees for planting in conjunc tion
with building
building development
should be made with extreme care. It is of little avail to plant trees for their beauty alone if each typhoon is to be the source of their ultimate and untimely destruction.
new
Possibly even more serious is the danger of flooding and the con- sequent collapses of buildings and hillsides, as well as the disruption of traffic. This is constantly with
THE HONG KONG & FAR EAST BUILDER
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CHRISTIAN . LITERATURE DEPT
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Sections A-A (top) and B-B (above) of the Morrison Memorial Centre, Kowloon
(see page opposite).
us, regardless of typhoons, and it is surprising that so little regard seems to be paid by architects (and engineers) to the fast effective dis- posal of rainwater suddenly pro- duced by heavy downpours.
Over 14 inches of rain in less than 24 hours is surely a problem worthy of close attention.
The following new members have recently been elected to the Hong
VOLUME 15, NUMBER 2
Kong Society of Architects:
Members: Mr. Ip Iu Pong, B. Arch. (Hong Kong), 112, Des Voeux Road. Central.
Mr. Robert Fan Junior, B.Sc. (Arch.) (St. John's), M.Arch. (Har- vard), 440/442, Alexandra House.
Mr. Philip Austen Morte, Dip. Arch. (Sheffield), A.R.I.B.A., War Office Works Group, H.Q., Land Forces, B.F.P.O. 1.
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