New Central Government Offices
20. The erection of these air conditioned offices, as mentioned in last year's report, is proceeding in sections and will take several years to complete.
21. The existing Government offices accommodated in separate buildings are being demolished as the new offices are built.
22. The plan consists of three blocks of offices, two of which are connected to each other, while the third is adjacent but separate. The layout and orientation of the buildings has been largely determined by the long, narrow site between Garden Road and Ice House Street, 900 feet in length. The blocks will be six and seven storeys high except the west wing, which, owing to a sharp fall in ground level, will be 13 floors in height.
23. The pattern of the office blocks is much the same throughout, and consists of offices about 19′ 0″ wide on either side of a 7' 0" wide central corridor. In length, each block is built up of 4′ 6″ wide window bays, and internal partitions can be erected between any two windows. Thus internal flexibility is obtained, since offices may be built up of any multiple of 4′ 6″. Where desirable, the corridor partitions may also be omitted to provide large registries and drawing offices extending the full 45′ 0″ width of the building.
24. When completed, the offices will contain approximately 260,000 square feet of floor space.
25. Inherent in this type of design is the architectural problem of monotonous rows of identical windows. Variation in external finishings and colour values, together with surfaces modelling by means of projecting hoods, fins and infilling panels have been used to obtain variety.
26. This is the first major Government building to be air conditioned throughout. Conditioned air is conveyed to the
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Sha Tau Kok Police Station.
Bridges Street Market.
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