ceiling and skirting of brownish-grey German marble. When the other section of the building is finished this arcade will be joined by two other cross-arcades which will curve to- gether to meet at the Queen's Road entrance. Between these the escalators will ascend to the shopping floors above. The first and second floors have similar arcades (now already open in the completed section) which will form, with the ground arcade and some additional shops in the basement, a big inter-connected four- storey shopping centre. Access be- tween these floors will be provided by staircases, fast lifts, and escalators.
Four high speed 700 feet gearless passenger lifts and one 500 feet per minute gearless service lift have been installed in the already completed part of the premises. This is the second 700 feet per minute installation in the Colony, the first having been installed in the Bank of China. Most of the other office buildings in the Colony using gearless lifts operate at 500 feet per minute.
The operating equipment is the latest designed and effects a "flight time" or travel between average floors of only 4.6 secs., in fact, to travel from the ground floor up to the top landing takes only 18 secs.
This group of lifts is the first instal- lation incorporating the new "Auto- tronic Control.” This system, which is entirely automatic in self adjust- ment, is designed for handling 4 set programmes of passenger traffic. the mornings "up peak" is experienc- ed. At lunch time and in the evening when the offices empty a "down peak programme" is experienced. In the
In
An Upstairs Arcade
Ground Floor Shopping Arcade from the Pedder St. Entrance
evenings and on holidays an "inter- mittent programme" operates. At other times during the normal work- ing day the traffic is "balanced" in either direction. By calculating from whatsoever. This is specifically de- After completion of the second the number of calls registered on the signed to provide more efficient service portion of the building the present landings, how long they have been so that the passengers will not watch group of lifts will be turned into an unanswered and also by means of and wait for the lifts returning to the "express group" serving from the special "micro" switches underneath ground floor, but will enter the first ground to the tenth floor (non-stop) the movable floating platform of the car upon arrival. Another special and then all other floors up to the cars, the system itself analyses the feature is the illumination of this sign eighteenth. Additional lifts will be the requirements of traffic and automa- which flashes in conjunction with a provided in the second portion for a tically changes over from one pro- gong to draw the attention of the "local group" to serve from the gramme to the other as soon as any passengers to the effect that the lift ground to the tenth floor inclusively. change to the programme in effect at has arrived and is ready to take on Besides these, a large service and that time is experienced.
passengers.
goods lift is accessible from the rear Special "This Car Up" signs are Newly designed multi-purpose "high by way of a new private lane joining incorporated on the ground floor land- speed door operators" have also been Queen's and Des Voeux Roads and à ing without any hall position indications incorporated.
loading platform in the northeast
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