KUALA LUMPUR TO
HAVE STADIUM NEGARA
Architects: Public Works Department.
WORK has begun on a national
indoor stadium in Kuala
Lumpur to be known as "Stadium Negara."
呼呼
The Stadium Negara, which will be complementary to the Merdeka Stadium is designed to cater for indoor games and indoor functions of national importance. It will play the same role as the Merdeka Stadium does now for outdoor games and open-air functions.
The site of the Stadium Negara will be on the present playing field in Tunku Abdul Rahman Park be- tween the Victoria Institution and Davidson Road. The main entrance will be from Davidson Road, which will be converted into a dual carriage way.
The first phase of the work will be excavation of the bowl and the siting of foundations. A number of phased contracts will be let. The Federation Government has set aside a sum of $1 million for the pre- liminary constructions.
The Public Works Department anticipates that the whole work should take about a year, and that the Stadium Negara should be ready for use before the fourth anniversary of Merdeka.
As the Stadium Negara wili be the focal point for sporting organisations of many kinds, it wili have big meeting and club rooms as well as a series of offices for user- organisations.
THE HONG KONG & FAR EAST BUILDER -
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The seating capacity of Stadium Negara will be a minimuni of 8,500 persons, and when needed, by the transfer of removable floor- seating, some 76,000 sq. ft. of space can be provided for exhibition
purposes.
The central space in the Stadium Negara will provide for all indoor games badminton (eight courts possible), as well as boxing, tennis, table tennis, basketball and similar sports. The central space can also be adapted temporarily for use as an ice-rink.
The central space will have an hydraulic lift stage which disappears below the floor when games are played. This space. therefore, can also be used for concerts, national pageants or exhibitions.
Circular in design, the Stadium Negara will have a roof which will be one of the largest clear spans in the world. This will be constructed on a spider's web of high tensile steel wires.
The overall diameter of the roof, which architecturally speaking is the most original aspect of the design, will be 360 feet, of which the central sector 300 feet in diameter will have no visible structural support.
The twin problem facing the designers was to cover a large area at minimum cost. The design con- sequently is the result of complicated mathematical calculations.
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The roof will be saucer-shaped, with a raised concave dome in the centre for lighting on the clerestory principle. From the air the construc- tion of the roof will appear some- what similar to a double-petalled flower, such as a daisy.
or
The roof will be covered with reflective paint. either silver white. There will be no direct light- ing. Light will pass by reflection from the roof through the clerestory where it will be reflected again from a central cone in the ceiling. It is anticipated that this method will also serve to reduce to a minimum the heat which comes with light.
Apart from the roof many innova- tions are being introduced because of the problems arising from the multi-purpose uses the Stadium will have. As at the Merdeka Stadium the entrances and exits are planned radially to ease the distribution of crowds.
Ventilation of this large enclosed space is another difficult problem. The Stadium will be served by dehumidified air, the velocity and direction of which will not affect the flight of badminton shuttles. In the central cone in the ceiling there will be slow-speed fans of special design which will allow for six complete changes of air in each hour.
Air-conditioned Press and Radio boxes and control rooms will be provided, and looking ahead, special
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