THE CHINA MAIL'S Windsor House Supplement
HONG KONG, APRIL 21, 1941.
MANY UNIQUE FEATURES An Underground Stream
W
JINDSOR HOUSE, Hong Kong's newist
and one of the finest office buildings, is not only a completely modern eight- storey structure but in cludes a large number of unique features, some of which are a result of the special pcculiarities of the site, while others are based on a study of the needs of such buildings in Hong Kong.
The anhateeb, Messrs Leigh and Orange, of which firm M. J E Potter, A RIBA, was principany responsable, had not only to take into consideration such things e
And an underground stream network of drams and cables buk also had to allow for the differ- erice in the levels of Des Voeux and Queen's Roads, as it is pro- posed eventually to ex'end the building over what is now the St. Francis Hotel, making a huge and roughly U shaped structure.
The bulk of the building, which at the moment runs some 20 feet Further back than the Exchange Building next dur, is taken Up offices. all of with the ustal which are ateratty occupied.
Special Needs
Special arrangements, however, had to be made to cater to the needs of three occupiers Dairy Farm, whose premises take
and mezzan up the ground flours in front, the Newspaper Enterprise. Limited, whose print ing machinery and offices occupy
floors al the the same
back. away from the noises of the street; and a large Ballroom, owned by Gay Brothers, on the top floor.
No less than 338 concrete piles. The majority of them he ween 30 and 40 feet in length, were driven in below the level of the pile cap ping, which in many places low the basement foundation old buildings formerly site of what
720723 House.
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be
(#1
Windso.
This old pile capping wae slabs on a bed of lime and cement concrete.
Below Sea Level
Excavation was frequently be low sea-level and this, toge her with the fact that an underground stream from the upper levels runs across the site, made pump- ing necessary at all times. In addition, there were variations in the water levels as the tides rose and fell, together with great variation after the exceptionally heavy rains which prevailed al- most throughout construction.
The level of the basement floor was laid four feet above the ord- nance datum, and, with the ex- perience of typhoons and floods In former years in the Colony, the architects made arrangements for the whole of the basement to Be very carefully water-proofed. membrarie waterproof makes the whole basement into a vast tank; a reinforced laver of concrete. on the floor resists up-
An architect's sketch of Windsor House.
ward pressure, while a protective skin of brick has been dpplied to the walls.
The difficulties of piling and excavation were not, however, confined to the problem of wa'er. There was a veritable network of electric and telephone cables, 80 pipes and sewers, in the lane ad- Building joining the Exchange and on the Des Voeux Road fron tage.
In addition, constant attention
was required to the main drain taking the outfall from the St. Francis Hotel, Marina House and the Exchange Building, owing to fractures following subsidence, .
Turning to the structure proper, the building is of reinforced con- Except crete frame construction. on the Des Voeux Road frontage, the monolithic, are the walls space between the rows of wine concrete dows being a reinforced beam bearing the floor load.
a
The roof is constructed of reinforced concrete truss, which serves the dual purpose of effi- ciently insulating the upper floor from the heat of a summer. aun and also allows the top floor to be free of internal columns — an Important consideration in view of the cabaret there.
are
The windows on the Des Voeux Road frontage, incidentally, recessed and protected by a con- (Continued on Page 4)
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