Book Reviews
A Primary School Design Workbook for Humid Asia, by D. J. Vickery, 114 in. x 8 in. 66 pages. Publish- ed by Unesco Regional Office for Education in Asia, Bangkok 1966. Defined as a check-list and source of reference this work-book adequa- tely covers the subject of its title and at the same time dispenses a lot of common sense about rural school design. The author, in simplifying things has come down in favour of a specific point whereas in similar books of this size and nature, it is usual to final the author vacillating between the pros and cons of the dif- ferent aspects of a decision.
Set out with four columns to a page and with an introduction in Eng- lish, French and Spanish, the book works to metric dimensions. It gives a brief background to the multiple uses that rural schools are put, such as libraries, reading rooms and co- operative centres, and gives an exam- ple of invertible children-sized chairs that can be used comfortably by adults. It deals with such subjects as zoning, orientation and ventilation and discusses teacher-centric and pupil-centric layouts as well as men- tioning how building design can help a trained teacher, taking one class, to also supervise or assist two untrained teachers each taking a class of their own. It also gives the statistics of body sizes of children aged 7 to 14 years.
The author condemns the typical 'covered way' between buildings beloved of clients
SO
and comments
PUBLIC WORKS PRIORITIES
(From page 25)
that they are expensive, have a very low use-factor and can be justified only where meteorological records indicate that heavy continuous rain is likely during the school hours for a substantial part of the school year. A photograph shows a typical tall covered way which neither protects the walkers from the sun, nor from the rain should a slight breeze be prevalent.
The promise of recommended scales of toilet accommodation turns out to be only an extract of the re- quirements of the Kuala Lumpur bye-laws, without any comment on their adequacy. There is a photo- graph though of an earthquake and typhoon-proof toilet.
Readers will be interested to learn that there are siting regulations in the Philippines that require that children should not have to pass bars, districts of ill-repute or other moral hazards on the way to school.
In spite of its typographical faults and the inversion, in my copy. of 10 pages, it is a pity that the book's technical production falls below that of its contents.
D.V.T.
Symposium on Reinforced Concrete Columns, 377 pages. Published by The American Concrete Institute P.O. Box 4754 Redford Station, Detroit, Michigan. Price US$11 or US$8 to A.C.I. members.
A symposium of fourteen papers on various experimental and analy- tical studies of reinforced and pre- stressed concrete columns, compiled under the sponsorship of The Ameri-
Sir David continued: "Without in any way wishing to denigrate the work of the highly expert people who are conducting all these surveys, this kind of planning in- evitably depends as I am sure they would all agree on making some fairly large assumptions: including the assumption that the future will follow roughly the pattern of the past; an assumption, indeed, that must be to some extent inherent in any extrapolation. Whether, therefore, in the event, our forecasts prove valid remains to be seen: and we cannot afford to accept them blindly and without scrutiny."
"Nor must we use these reports as an excuse for delaying the start of the many road improvement schemes which are obviously required. The new waterfront road to link Harcourt Road to King's Road has been designed, and the necessary reclamation works have been in hand for some time. This road should be open to traffic by 1970.
"A detailed report on the measures which can be taken to relieve congestion at the Kowloon City round- about will shortly be presented to the Traffic Advisory Committee.
"The Lion Rock Tunnel and new road to Sha Tin will be opened to traffic in October. It is hoped that the new low level dual carriageway to Tsuen Wan will be opened to traffic by August next year, by which time the bridge at present under construction across Lai Chi Kok Bay will have been completed. Flyovers are being plan-
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can Concrete Institute, this publica- tion provides both practising en- gineers and those engaged in research with a compilation of some of the current studies in concrete columns.
The papers compare the tests with a theoretical analysis and give a re- view of prior studies and current knowledge. They form a record of the discussion following their reading and draw their conclusions from the above, the whole being well illustrated with diagrams, graphs and photo- graphs of the tests carried out.
P.W.
Architects "Detail" Library, Vols. 1 and 2. Publishers: Iliffe Books. Ltd., 42 Russell Square, London. W.C.1. Price 42s. each.
These first two volumes from a projected series of six, are entitled Wrought Iron Railing, Doors and Gates: and Ceilings in Wood. Edited by Konrad Gatz in conjunction with Jehan Thierry, they first appeared in Munich two years ago and have now been translated into English by E. H. F. Ostarhild, BA, FIL (Vol. 1) and J. Maier, BArch, ARIBA (Vol. 2).
Both books are copiously illustrated In with photographs and drawings. Vol. 1 is a selection of examples of wrought and forged iron work based on what is considered necessary for everyday application. In addition, some of the illustrations have been chosen to show features which are deemed to extend beyond necessity to the artistic sphere.
Ceilings in Wood illustrates the in- creasing scope for timber as a result of advanced technological techniques developed for this material. Separate sections cover suspended wood ceil- ings, structural ceilings and timber dressed roof structures.
C.J.
ned for many busy road intersections, and the first stage of Kapok Drive should be in use by the end of the year. "Congestion is not now, however, limited to the public roads. The recent increases in air traffic at Kai Tak Air- port, and plans to bring Jumbo jets into use by 1969, make it necessary to consider both extending the runway and expanding the general airport facilities. Planning of these works is in hand, and a report from the consulting engineers, Messrs. Scott & Wilson, Kirkpatrick and Part- ners is awaited.
"It seems possible that modernisation of our harbour facilities may also be required and the report of the Con- tainer Committee is an interesting and very useful contri- bution towards our knowledge of possible future trends. But there still seems to be much that is controversial in this subject, and I hope it will prove possible to profit from experience of containerports elsewhere before it be comes necessary to proceed far with building one in Hong Kong.
Turning finally to the subject of industrial develop- ment, the Governor said that a good supply of industrial land adjacent to centres of population was now available at Chai Wan, Kwun Tong, To Kwa Wan. Cheung Sha Wan and Kwai Chung; but, looking to the future, further development at Castle Peak and Sha Tin would still be needed.
"We now know." he added, "that these new towns need not be developed quite as quickly as was thought: but they are still required, and it is perhaps fortunate that there will now be more time to attract industry to them to form the nucleus around which steady and planned de- velopment can take place."
Far East Architect & Builder April, 1967
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