December_1967 — Page 5

world news

British Embassy Offices

in Stockholm

An unusual dual-purpose building has been completed in Stockholm for the British Embassy. Erected on a res- tricted site facing one of the city's Royal parks, it con- sists of a three-storey podium block of offices, rising from which is are two floors of staff flats.

The office block comprises a fairly open ground floor with covered parking space, entrance hall and cinema, with two floors of offices above. The flats are designed on the duplex principle, with access from the lower floor. Construction is in reinforced concrete with granite facing. The ground floor columns and walls are faced in Fjaras Gneiss, a blackish-grey stone with a cloven finish. The offices are faced in Boafall, a medium-grey granite with polished and bush-hammered finishes. The flats are faced in light grey Idefjords granite, again with polished and bush hammered finishes.

The

Ground floor windows are in light bronze anodized aluminium with double glazed sealed units, The offices have double windows of the same material and finish externally, and ash frames and sashes internally. windows of the flats are in cham- pagne anodized aluminium externally, with painted soft wood frames and sashes internally. Exterior balustrad- ing is also in aluminium.

The entrance hall has a slate floor with teak and stainless steel open tread staircases rising to the upper floors. The ground floor has been given an open appearance by the use of full height glazing on both sides of the hall and cinema, and the solid enclosures forming the drivers' and guards' rooms have been kept down to doorhead height and well away from the boldly modelled ceiling. It is thus possible to see right through the building to the park.

The building, which cost appro- ximately £500,000, was designed by W. S. Bryant, MBE, ARIBA, assist- ant chief architect of the Directorate of Overseas Services, Ministry of Public Building and Works. The Swedish associated architect was Bengt S. Carlberg. General contractors were Byggnadsfirman Nils Nessen Aktie- bolag of Stockholm,

Construction Started on Bank

of Japan Annex

FOUNDATION Work has recently started for a nine-storey building with five subterranean levels which will serve as an annex for the Bank of Japan. Five leading construc- tion companies will be involved in the project under the leadership of Takenaka Komuten.

The original headquarters building of the Bank of Japan is an imposing Renaissance-style structure which was completed in 1896 in Tokyo's business district to become the first Western-style bank building in Japan. The new annex will provide 49.872 sq. metres of addi- tional floor space on a 3,706 sq. metre site. The cream- coloured granite exterior of the new building will contrast with the sombre look of the main structures.

The soil of the site has a loam content which poses special problems in the construction of multi-basement buildings. A patented deep foundation process is to be used, by which a casing pipe is driven into the ground with an Augerpile machine. At the same time, a screw draws surplus earth to the surface. The method is vir- tually noiseless and vibration-free, and at the same time permits building depths up to 40 metres.

Suspended Catenary Roof over New Amphitheatre

AN open-sided amphitheatre being constructed near Newark, New Jersey, USA, will seat 5,000 under a sus- pended catenary roof, with provision for a further 5,000 on a sloping lawn surround.

Known as the Garden State Arts Centre, the amphi- theatre will cover more than an acre. It will include an art exhibition hall and refreshment places, with restrooms below ground level. The building is designed for the New Jersey Highway Authority by Edward Durell Stone, with T. Y. Lin and Associates acting as consulting en- gineers.

The inverted dome, 200 ft. in diameter, meets a

Front and rear elevations of the British Embassy offices and flats in Stockholm

Far East Architect & Builder December, 1967

TTTT ELFT

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