WEIGHT
NK
Architect:
T. C. YUEN
very light for a building of its size. A similar building in reinforced concrete would have called for pillars three feet by four feet against the 16 inch by 19 inch columns of the steel structure. and would have weighed some three or four times as much.
The Hang Seng Bank building has 22 storeys and a basement and stands within a few inches of 241 feet above the ground.
More weight was saved by using curtain walling for all external walls. an area of some 50.000 square feet. This wall has a steel core attached to the frame of the building and has aluminium extrusions for mullions and heat toughened Pilkington Ar- mourelad glass for the spandrels.
Cleaning of the curtain walling has been taken care of by means of a travelling cradle suspended from the roof. On a track round the pent- house roof runs a trolley with arms projecting over the sides of the building. From these arms the cradle which carries the men en- gaged in the actual cleaning hangs by a tensioned cable anchored to the duct roofing floor. An electric motor in the cradle regulates the rise and fall of the cradle.
Second problem was preparing the foundations. It was known that the site was on reclaimed land. What was not known was that this was probably one of the worst sites from the builder's point of view in the whole of the Colony. First of all the refill was found to contain a lot of boulders. This was nothing new. but investigations by Soil Mechanics
TA
7
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19
יותר.