April_1970 — Page 30

Stage II building viewed from south-west

B

COVERED

PLAYGROUND

FLAT ROOF

26

Ground floor

UPPER PART OF COVERED PLAYGROUND

LB

DN

LIFT HALL

LOBBY

STORE

ON-

רולים

SCALE

124

32 FT.

1970.4

FORTRESS HILL, a slim 26-storey slab block containing 400 flats for workers of the Hongkong Electric Co. Ltd. has been built by a cross-wall system of construction. A 'wind' tower is incorporated in the building, making it possible to eliminate all beams without undue extra costs and resulting in greatly improved lighting and ventilation for the flats.

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For a really economical structural design, a cross wall ideally should ex- tend the full depth of the building. But this is generally not the case where openings for corridors, etc. - occur in the same position at each floor level; the wall is so reduced in cross sectional area at this point that it can no longer be regarded as a single struc- tural unit.

In this building, to enable the full depth of the building to be utilised in the design of the cross walls, openings for corridors are staggered. This has resulted in a reduction in wall thick- nesses and in steel reinforcement.

The staggering of the corridors also provided the opportunity to introduce a joggle, so obviating a long, endless corridor plan. This in turn allowed the designers to make an interesting archi- tectural feature of the two staircases at the ends of the building.

To provide the most useful play

COVERED

PLAYGROUND

U

COVERED

PLAYGROUND

*

TH

NAU

TEMPLE

SOLO

FORTRESS

STAGE!

Block plan

་་་

ROAD

SCALE TO IT

Far East BUILDER, April 1970

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