XN000022-1977-03-21 — Page 2

MONDAY, MARCH 21, 1977

WORK ON PLANETARIUM TO BEGIN THIS MONTH ******

THE MAIN BUILDING WORKS FOR HONG KONG'S NEW PLANETARIUM WILL BEGIN BEFORE THE END OF THIS MONTH.

A $13.2 MILLION CONTRACT FOR THE PROJECT WAS SIGNED TODAY IN THE PUBLIC WORKS DEPARTMENT HEADQUARTERS IN MURRAY BUILDING.

CHIEF P.W.D. ARCHITECT, MR. JOSEPH LEI, WHO FORMALLY SIGNED THE CONTRACT ON BEHALF OF THE GOVERNMENT, SAID HE EXPECTED THE COMPLEX TO BE COMPLETED BY SEPTEMBER NEXT YEAR.

OF

THE PLANETARIUM, WHICH WILL FORM PART OF THE PROPOSED TSIM SHA TSUI CULTURAL CENTRE, IS BEING BUILT BY THE P.W.D.'S ARCHITECTURAL OFFICE ON BEHALF OF THE URBAN COUNCIL, WHICH IS FINANCING THE PROJECT,

THE CONTRACT SIGNED TODAY INCLUDES CONSTRUCTION OF A LARGE SEMI-CIRCULAR SKY THEATRE AND A TWO-STOREY ANNEX.

IT WAS AWARDED TO THE TECHNIC CONSTRUCTION CO., WHICH WON THE CONTRACT IN COMPETITION WITH 11 OTHER LOCAL FIRMS.

MR. LE SAID FOUNDATION WORKS COSTING NEARLY $2 MILLION HAD ALREADY BEEN COMPLETED ON THE 7,600 SQUARE METRE PLANETARIUM SITE WHICH IS ON PART OF THE FORMER KOWLOON CANTON RAILWAY TERMINUS AT TSIM SHA TSUI.

+THIS IS THE FIRST PROJECT OF ITS KIND EVER UNDERTAKEN BY THE P.W.D.,+ HE SAID, +AND IT HAS REQUIRED A TREMENDOUS AMOUNT OF WORK.

+WE HAVE HAD TO DO DETAILED STUDIES OF SOME 15 PLANETARIA IN THE UNITED STATES, CANADA, BRITAIN AND GERMANY TO MAKE SURE WE WERE ABREAST OF THE LATEST DEVELOPMENTS IN THE FIELD.

THE DOMINANT FEATURE OF THE BUILDING WOULD BE THE. LARGE, EGG-SHAPED DOME STRUCTURE HOUSING THE SKY THEATRE, WHERE AUDIENCES OF BETWEEN 350 AND 400 WOULD MAKE

IMAGINARY TRIPS TO THE PLANETS.

+ONE INTERESTING FEATURE HAS BEEN ADDED BY SETTING THIS RATHER STRIKING DOME WITHIN A SHALLOW POOL, TO GIVE A PLEASANT 'FLOATING' EFFECT TO THE WHOLE STRUCTURE, + HE SAID.

FORMING THE 'YOLK' OF THE EGG-SHAPED STRUCTURE WOULD BE THE SKY THEATRE ITSELF, N THE SHAPE OF A CIRCULAR DOME WITH A 23-METRE DIAMETER PROJECTION SCREEN ON WHICH PLANETS AND CONSTELLATIONS WOULD DE SHOWN IN THEIR NATURAL CONFIGURATIONS.

THE THEATRE