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of costume and a special kind of cult, which is being used in uniforms, the decoration of the room and the linen, etc.

The national habits some- times have to be adapted slightly before they can be in- corporated into a restaurant for international visitors: for instance, in Japan in a Japan- ese dining room where Japan- ese food is served the first thing that gives the authentic atmosphere is the fact that you sit on the floor to eat; but in- ternational travellers are often very uncomfortable sitting on the floor and cannot fully en- joy this experience. So we have designed pits under the table to enable the guests' legs to go down into the floor in exactly the same proportion and manner as if they were sitting in a chair, and yet the feeling of sitting on the floor on cushions at a Japanese

Part of the Jade-Lotus dining room, Hong Kong table is maintained.

Hilton

on the roof; this shell is unique to the Philippines and can be used in different ways.

In Thailand we are using the name of an upland provincial capital Chieng Mei, as the name of a room, because from there comes a special style of architecture, a special style

It is not only the more ob- vious things that make up an atmosphere, but smaller points such as the table settings, which should be selected from the very finest examples of the country's pottery and the way the table setting is laid out; the nap- kins, the menu even the bill that comes to you should in some way incorporate the very essence of the

country or the theme chosen for the restaurant.

Important though it is, the element of theme in decoration is really only superficial; it is what we do after we have worked out the complete functional aspect of the restaurant. To help us in this phase of design, we are given information by the manage- ment as to what kind of food, what kind of service and what style of ser- vice is to be provided.

All this is clearly documented and has to be taken very much into consideration before we start design- ing, because it is no good finishing up with a beautiful restaurant which is not functional and which does not facilitate smooth, speedy service.

The lobby of a hotel should be in- ternational in character, because it has to function internationally and receive large groups of people and big quantities of baggage. You have to be able to get your key, register, mail your letters and do all of these things simply, quickly and practically.

So in the lobbies we generally iden- tify the country only through one major work of art and this we usual- ly try to have very modern, a sculp- ture, or painting by a leading artist in the country, and leave the rest of the room very international in style, without much regional character. This is expressed in depth in the din- ing room, grille room, coffee shop, cocktail lounge and other similar parts of the hotel.

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Far East Architect & Builder April, 1966