Access corridor
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m
Section B-B
a distance it appears to be set closely to the face of the quarters blocks, it is in fact separated from them by a private road and a distance of 60ft. (The Wong Tai Sin police quarters were described in the Far East Builder, December 1967).
The architects for the school were presented with a fan-shaped site, bounded on the north and east by the quarters blocks and on the other boundaries by Chun Yau Street and Po Kwon Village Road. By using the L-shape in the north-east corner of the site, they created the maximum of playground space on the very limited area and removed the building, from traffic noise. Additionally, by having the police quarters at its back the school is screened against direct sun- shine from the west.
Subsidies
The school is owned by the Canos- sian Missions who contributed 20 per cent of the school building fund. The remainder was met by a 50 per cent Hong Kong Government subsidy and a 30 per cent interest free loan.
Plans, prepared by private architects Leigh and Orange, were subject to Government approval and are in ac- cordance with Government standards for primary schools. These standards allow for only standard finishes so that such things as mosaic tile dadoes and shanghai plaster finishes included in the design were extras accounted for from the school owners' contribution.
No assembly halls are provided for in Government subsidised schools, but in this school summer assemblies may be held in a multi-purpose covered playground beneath the classroom block, where stage facilities have been installed.
The school caters for a little more than 2,000 pupils in two sessions, morning and afternoon. These are Chinese boys and girls, aged between six and 12, i.e. primary forms one to six. There are 24 classrooms, each holding a class of about 42. Dimen- sions of a typical classroom are 23ft. 6in. x 23ft. 71⁄21⁄2in.
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The L-shape of the school, integrat- ing with the police quarters, divides the building into two blocks a west wing containing the administration offices and special teaching rooms, and a north wing containing standard class-
rooms.
Accommodation is as follows: Ground floor - covered playground with stages; back stage; toilets; tuck shop; refreshment kiosk; recreation rooms; caretaker's quarters; toilets for
male and female visitors; P.T. instruc- tor's room with attached toilet; store; and first aid room.
First floor six standard class- rooms; headmistress's room and office, teachers' room; and toilets for staff and pupils.
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Second floor six standard class- rooms; one special classroom; teachers' room; and toilets.
Third and fourth floors are similar to the second floor and a playground is provided at roof level.
The party walls dividing three class- rooms on the first floor are folding partitions of hollow core timber. Black- boards can be removed and the parti- tions slid back to turn the three rooms into one large area for holding school examinations.
Circulation is by external access corridors on the south and east faces, with the main staircase and main en- trance at the junction of the L and a secondary staircase at the end of the classroom block. A further staircase will be erected at the end of the administration block when future ex- tensions are carried out. The school is designed for both horizontal and vertical expansion.
Along the access corridors a series of fins and slats is introduced to cut out glare and prevent the morning sun penetrating far into the classrooms.
Piling needed
While the site is level, it is composed mainly of made-up ground and piling was necessary for the five-storey build- ing. Some ninety-one 20in. diameter cast in-situ piles were sunk to support the structure which comprises a rein- forced concrete frame of normal slab and beam construction.
Dark blue mosaic tiles are used on the spandrels and all other external surfaces are finished in shanghai plaster. To reduce maintenance costs mosaic tile dadoes have been incorporated in all classrooms and offices. All rooms, with the exception of toilets are laid with p.v.c. tiles.
The total cost of the project, in- cluding professional fees, was HK$ 1,140,394, which breaks down to HK$2.20 per cu. ft.
Piling work was completed in May 1967. Builder's work started in Feb- ruary 1968 and was completed in October 1968.
The main contractor was Siu Kin & Co. Ltd. Sub contractors included:
Vibro (HK) Ltd. - piling Philips (HK) Ltd.
installations
electrical
Kitson & Siu Co. Ltd. -- plumbing.
Far East BUILDER, April 1969
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