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Malaya's new nationa will be in nationa
Architect: Ho Kwong Y
WORK is progressing well on the new National Museum now go- ing up in Damansara Road, Kuala Lumpur, fast growing capital of the Federation of Malaya.
The new museum, the cost of which, including fittings and exhibi- tion furniture and other items, will be over M$1,500,000, is being built on the site of the old museum where, in one building or another, there has been a museum since 1899.
Simplicity and a Malayan style are the keynotes of the new museum which will consist of a single build- ing 362 feet long, 100 feet wide and 124 feeet high.
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It will include exhibition galler- ies, which will be airconditioned, on on the first floor, and offices, work- shops and store rooms on the ground floor. A large central hall is being provided and it is hoped that this will be frequently used for special loan exhibitions from other coun- tries.
It was originally intended that the roof should be of wooden shing- less, in keeping with the Malayan style of the design, but in the inter- ests of durability it has now decided that glazed brown tiles will be substituted.
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In front of the building on its road front will be two reflecting pools to give an air of serenity to the com- position. Ample parking space will be provided at the rear.
One of the important require- ments is to provide shelter for visi tors and for passers-by if they should be caught in a sudden tro pical downpour. The verandah all round the ground floor of the mus eum has been included for this pur- pose and because a pillared verandah of the type to be built is a common feature of Malayan architecture.
The design provides for two large murals on the walls of the two
THE HONG KONG & FAR EAST BUILDER-VOLUME 16, NUMBER 6
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