adequate facility for entertaining. (c) The maximum amount of cross-ven- tilation where air conditioning was not desired. (d) The maximum luxury finishings at minimum cost without detriment to the structural qualities.
The type finally adopted by the owner consisted of a monopitch roof involving the minimum amount timber trimming and cutting and re- garding the roof rafters as simple beams and ceiling joists. An experi- mental roof was built and subjected to severe tests at varying angles be fore the final slope was decided upon. Additional security against moisture
of
General impression of a "G" type house.
was attained by sisalcraft sheeting laid to the underside of the tiles. The net result of the experiments enabled two monopitch roofs to be constructed at different levels with the intervening distance being occupied by a clere- storey serving the dual purpose of
cross-ventilation where most needed and adding height and spaciousness where normally this would only be possible with wide room.
The subsoil of Whitley Park mainly dictated the use of piles, which are an expensive item to any house construction, and in this case would immediately preclude Whitley Park
View of main lounge window of a "G" type house.
THE HONG KONG & FAR EAST BUILDER - VOLUME 14, NUMBER 4
from the competitive field. However, upon investigation of the vertical weights it was found that if distri- buted over the whole site of the house no more than 375 lbs. per sq. foot loading would result. This exigency was met by the provision of a 10 in. thick reinforced concrete slab formed over the house area, which ul- timately proved to be an even cheaper form of foundation than that foundation beam and stump column.
of
Interior finishings are of good quality with terrazzo and mosaic tile floors, wall tiling to kitchen and sanitary offices, with plastic-faced kitchen fittings and steel sinks. Sani- tary ware was supplied by Royal Doulton complete with chromium plated pipes and mixing valves to bathrooms. Standardisation of units greatly assisted speed of erection. Notwithstanding, the construction of the houses was sufficiently elastic to incorporate any special features re- quired by the buyer. A popular fea- ture in the houses is the ease of air conditioning, ah.p. unit being adequate for any single room.
It is quite certain that the small house has come to stay and this principle is quite clearly evinced in the number of housing estates sur- rounding Singapore where not only the moderate income group reside, but also those possessing means to dwell in larger and more expensive houses.
19