August_1967 — Page 1

Far East ARCHITECT & BUILDER

The oldest trade journal in the Far East

EDITOR A. G. BARNETT

Contents

AUGUST 1967

news review

News Review

21

Department of Architecture's Annual

Exhibition, Hong Kong

World News

220

24

27

S$90M. Urban Renewal Projects,

Singapore

31

45

Ping Shek Estate, Hong Kong ..

Taipei Apartment Complex, Taiwan..

Iglesia Ni Cristo Chapel, Quezon,

Philippines

13233

48

52

5535

Network Analysis in Construction (part III) 56

P. A. Smith, AIOB

Civil Engineering Section

Bituminous Pavement with Pottery

61

Aggregates

Zenith Chuang

Materials and Equipment

65

Contractors' Plant

69

Building Plans Approved

73

Contracts Awarded

75

Index to Advertisers

78

Cover picture shows models by the Singapore Housing and Development Board of eight of the 14 projects now being offered for development by private enterprise as part of the city's ambitious urban renewal programme. See page 31.

Published monthly by Far East Trade Press Ltd., 1908, Prince's Building, Hong Kong. Tel: 241031 European Office: Building and Contract Journals Ltd., 32 Southwark Bridge Road, London, S. E. I. Tel: Waterloo 2060. Printed by Shum 8hing Print- ing Co.. 7 Ship Stroet, Hong Kong. Tel: 724513.

Controlled circulation to 5,000 qualified readers

HK$2 MILLION BUILDING RESEARCH PROJECT

A MAJOR research programme to determine the effects of typhoons on high buildings is being undertaken by the University of Hong Kong. Directing the research is Pro- fessor Sean Mackey, head of the University's Civil En- gineering Department,

When completed, the findings will add valuable in- formation to the existing state of knowledge on wind effects on multi-storey buildings. They may also lead to amendments to the design criteria laid down in the Code of Practice on Wind Effects made under the Buildings Ordinance.

ft.

To facilitate the research a special full-scale experi- mental building will be constructed on a low-lying expos- ed site within the boundary of the radio station of Cable and Wireless Limited at Cape D'Aguilar.

It will occupy an area of 60 ft. by 30 ft. and will rise ten storeys or 100 About 250 ft. away on two sides of the building. groups of latticed-steel masts will rise 150 ft. high and will carry specially designed quick-response anemometers at different heights. These will determine accurately the configuration of both moderate and typhoon winds, es- pecially gust area and velocity. The building itself will be of steel-framed construction with glass external walling and reinforced concrete floors. It will follow the pattern of construction of several tall buildings in the central area of Hong Kong.

All four building faces will be dotted with special pressure cells set into the glass walling and capable of determining the amount and distribution of wind pressure over the building. Subsequent correlation of the pressure measurements with the velocity patterns of the wind and with the deflexions of the building will be assisted by a specially-designed, on line. high-speed electronic digital re- corder which will be housed in the building. This will record automatically on magnetic tape all experimental re- cords taken over a four-hour continuous period at a rate of 2,400 items per second.

ANALYSIS BY COMPUTER

Because of the huge volume of data recorded during a severe storm the tape records will be so arranged that they can be fed directly into a large electronic computer for subsequent analysis.

The total cost of the project is approximately HK$2 million, half of which is being provided jointly by the Nuffield Foundation: the British Iron and Steel Federa- tion; the Ministry of Overseas Development of Her Ma- jesty's Government: the Civil Engineering Research Asso- ciation; and the University of Hong Kong. The Hong Kong Government will provide the balance of the funds required.

Professor Mackey said last month that his choice of steel rather than reinforced concrete for the structural framing was dictated by the need for a structure which would retain its elastic properties under repetitive load- ing, as occurs when a building is constantly buffeted by wind gusts.

He stated: "Although a tall city building tends to de- flect towards a mean position in the direction of the na-

Far East Architect & Builder August, 1967

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