A
TRAJAN'S
NEWS
COLUMN ·
NOTES *** TOPICS
IT'S AN ILL WIND
detailed statement on recent buildings civilisation," but that civilisation cer- should be compiled. Failure to do tainly does not exist here in busy, this will be a disaster for modern overcrowded, commercial and mer- architecture in Hong Kong.
cenary Hong Kong.
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SAND IN OUR EYES.
The elements of sea, beach, hillside and building group could combine to
The Building Research Station in make an exciting prospect if only England has published its Digest No. contemporary thought could prevail. Sand for concrete. As sand is Shades of Burnham-on-Crouch and used to some extent on almost all Pampanhulla! building jobs, the Digest is obviously of some importance. It deals, amongst other things, with "gap grading' which may be something fairly new to architects and builders here
as
E
Now,
LET T'BATTLE COMMENCE! The battle with Lancashire might conceivably be joined by the building well as shape, cleanliness, and the industry too. The aspersions being like. It emphasises very strongly, cast at working conditions in the but, we and stresses the importance of the Colony by mis-informed proper grading of sands, and discusses hope, well intentioned Members of the Codes of Practice, B.S.S. for Ag- Parliament and business men in Eng- land include reference to dilapidated A recent circular issued by the gregates, testing methods, etc.
and unhealthy textile mills. Building Authority seems to have put
Which all leads us to think that Trajan is a great believer in getting the wind up some of the local archi- perhaps this very humble material facts straight, so he went to check on tectural fraternity; in calling for wind which gets in our eyes, into our drinks
these innuendos and found them, effects to be taken into account for at a picnic, and trickles warmly generally, to be wrong. There are all buildings, and cutting out the two- between our toes on those Sunday more textile factories being built in to-one rule of thumb which has crept afternoons ΟΠ the beach, deserves
Hong Kong than there are in Lan- in from the L.C.C.
much more respect as a scientific
cashire, and those that are being There has grown up in this Colony product than it gets at the moment.
constructed here are of a standard over the last decade a tradition of Certainly the stuff supplied by the sound building in which the con- Sand Monopoly is not very scientific fidence of the public has been firmly and leaves much to be desired on most placed. In our own way we are occasions.
unequalled there or anywhere else.
The South Sea Textiles installation
rooms,
at Tsuen Wan comprises not only the dealing fairly effectively with the Under the circumstances prevailing tories and quality control
spinning and weaving sheds, labora- many problems presented by our at present it would be out of the ques- stores,
a etc., but well equipped climate. A climate as fickle and in- tion to ask a contractor to guarantee canteen, hostels on the hillside over- sidiously treacherous in its effect on that the sand he uses conforms to looking the sea, and gardens to give building materials as any in the world. B.S.S., but the Sand Monopoly people some aesthetic appeal to the area. We have absorbed and adopted new might look in this direction. The ap- And the buildings are of reinforced ideas and struggled to evolve a modern paratus for testing and grading is quite concrete, not with worm-eaten timber, movement to suit our environment. simple and quality control, even if it north-light roofs and small windows in New ideas and technological changes costs us a little more, would be well prison-like atmosphere of drab brick have superseded traditional load-bear- worth while. ing constructional forms, but con- sideration of the economy of the manner of building has always been to the fore.
Now, it seems, the taller buildings-- indeed all the buildings built in the post-war period are likely to be unsafe in a real typhoon
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a
and cobblestones like we see in Lan- cashire.
YE OLDE COUNTRIE CLUB.
The Kam Chung Nam Weaving Preliminary sketches of the Country Company, the Universal Textile Co., Club to be built at Brick Hill, near the $5 per month Hostel for factory Aberdeen, indicate that it will be built girls in Dyer Avenue, Hung Hom, and in a Chinese style of architecture. This Jardines new Dyeing and Finishing seems rather a pity, and right out of plant at Shatin might all be written line with present day thoughts on up in the U.K. technical journals for What a thought!
design.
our critics to see. The present day And, in the future, the cost of The Chinese architectural style textile mills of Hong Kong are air building is bound to rise to pay for evolved from a very definite building conditioned, with humidity and dust the increased steel and the stiffening system, using a timber framework and control, enabling the work to be done walls, and the extra concrete which having the roof as the chief feature. in comfortable and congenial surround- will be required in order to satisfy the This was supported on timber pillars ings. Were these transported to Lan- new requirements.
set on stone bases to protect them cashire, those dreary towns lining up
It is to be hoped that the respon- from damp. The economic aspect was to Wigan pier would be given a boost sible agencies will go into the question often neglected and form instead of which might lead to better living con- again; deeply and completely and any function usually ruled. Banister Flet- ditions in that part of the world. second thoughts should be allowed to cher states that "the architecture of
TRAJAN. prevail. In any case, a full and China is a faithful
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index of her