August_1967 — Page 2

tural wind it is continuously swaying with an amplitude which may be at least as large as the steady deflexion.

"This swaying motion, although seldom considered in detail in tall building design, is probably the most significant aspect of the behaviour and determines whe- ther a building structure performs satisfactorily or not in service. It governs the comfort of the occupants and in very extreme cases has an important influence on pos- sible cracking of windows or walls."

The professor said that observations he had made of the sway characteristics of buildings in Hong Kong clearly indicated that a considerable degree of stiffness against lateral movement was imparted to the structural framework by the external walling and internal parti- tions, even when the former were made chiefly of glass. If better use could be made of this fact in design, he added, then cheaper building costs would result.

To gain further knowledge on the stiffening value of such walling, glass, being one of the most delicate and vulnerable of walling materials is being used for the ex- ternal cladding of the experimental building. Much re- search has already been carried out using wind tunnels and small model buildings. But two factors, both vitally important to building design, cannot be examined realis- tically by such methods. One concerns the relationship between peak velocity and gust area in natural storms and the other relates to the dynamic response of full-scale buildings, which cannot be scaled-down to model size without serious loss of accuracy.

YAU MA TEI CIVIC CENTRE

A MODERN Civic centre, containing all the facilities essen- tial to a large urban community, is to be established in the Yau Ma Tei district of Kowloon, Hong Kong, as part of the long term development plan for this densely po- pulated area.

The statutory Yau Ma Tei outline development plan provides for a community centre covering an area of about 61⁄2 acres of land lying between Public Square Street, Nathan Road, Kansu Street and Canton Road. In this area there is provision for open spaces, playgrounds and sites for Government and public buildings, such as schools, welfare centres and clinics. The new Yau Ma Tei Health Centre was completed earlier this year, and construction work on the Kowloon Central Post Office is expected to be completed shortly.

The area contains a large number of restaurants,

shops and theatres, but present parking facilities are in- adequate to meet the demand. To assist in this respect, a multi-storey car park is proposed. Land needed for the next phase in the development is now occupied by 76 old tenement buildings. The leases of these properties have expired and Government proposes to terminate exist- ing tenancies so that the land may be cleared to make way for the project.

SINGAPORE PUBLIC HOUSING

A NEW neighbourhood for more than 20,000 people is be- ing developed at Queenstown. Singapore, at a cost of about S$18 million. The sixth Queenstown neighbour- hood, it will occupy a site of 56 acres off Stirling Road.

A spokesman for the Housing and Development Board said last month that the development was scheduled for completion by the end of next year and would con- tain 4,560 housing units.

At present under construction are 1,438 units in ten, 12 and 16-storey structures. They will be single-room and three-room flats of an improved type. The neighbourhood will have its own schools, playing fields, community cen- tre and hawkers centre.

The five-year Second Development Plan (1966-70) of the Housing and Development Board will see 60,000 units built at an average rate of 12,000 units a year, according to the Board's annual report.

Total cost of the programme, including urban renew- al, is $$380 million. Most of the construction will be in Toa Payoh, Jurong New Town, Tiong Bahru, Kallang Basin, Henderson Road, Queenstown, Telok Blangah and Precincts S.1 and N.1 under urban renewal.

By the end of last year, 12,659 units, including shops, were completed 659 more than the target. The larg est number of the units completed was at Toa Payoh satellite town where the first 5,640 units have been com- pleted.

BUILDING PLANS APPROVED

THE Building Authority approved a total of 36 new build- ing plans of all types in Hong Kong, Kowloon and the New Territories in June as compared with 28 in May.

In the same period, newly completed buildings cer- tified for occupation numbered 66 which shows a drop of twelve compared with the total recorded in the pre-

CANTON ROAD

1

PUBLIC SQUARE STREET

SHANGHAI STREET

9)

6

(10)

(11)

(12)

(2

4

5

8

(13)

223

KANSU STREET

NATHAN ROAD

сс

YAU MA TEI CIVIC CENTRE

KEY:

1. Health centre

2. Site for primary school

3. Public open space

4. Public open space

5. Reserved for Government, in-

stitution and community use.

6. Existing open market to be

public open space

7. Existing bath-house & latrine and Urban Services public cleansing centre

8. Multi-storey car park, possibly including space for community facilities

9. Residential/commercial

ings

build-

10. Existing temple to remain

11. Active recreation

12. Post Office & Government

offices

13. High density residential

building

Far East Architect & Builder August, 1967