February_1966 — Page 91

Book Reviews

Formwork for Modern Structures, by Sir Frederick Snow, Publishers: Chapman and Hall. Price 42s.

Design of formwork is brought up- to-date by this book, which was pre- pared by Sir Frederick Snow, the con- sulting engineer, and eight contribu- tors. Special emphasis is laid on the extensive use of plywood as a com- monly used material of today.

Opening with an introduction to the various materials used in the manufac- ture of formwork, the book continues with descriptions of the methods of use, and of the formwork for differ- ent parts of the building structure. There are chapters on columns, walls, floors and staircases, sliding formwork and formwork for shell structures.

Moulds for precast concrete units are covered, and a further chapter considers the formwork used in road and airport construction. A whole chapter is devoted to ways of econo- mising by using the correct design of structure in relation to formwork.

The final chapter includes a com- prehensive set of design tables for timber and plywood formwork. to- gether with worked examples.

Contract Administration For Archi-

tects and Quantity Surveyors, by The Aqua Group. Publishers: Crosby Lockwood. Price 18s.

In fiction, sequels present a greater challenge to authors than do the initial books, and to the extent that they reveal whether authors' works are capable of extension, technical sequels manifest the same exposure of the capabilities of their predeces- sors. Here, the successor to Pre- Contract Practice has nothing to fear as the authors have already indicated that, in modern parlance one must not merely get a project "off the

ground' but in more dated colloquia- lism "one must get off on the right foot."

Without being idealistic it is fair to say that a small minority of building disputes are caused by bad faith, and that the great majority are attributable to a combination of lack of method, failure of communications, and sheer ignorance of parties as to their duties, powers, and rights. Add to these con- ditions two persons of substance with litigous intent and a certain ingenuity in extracting an odd clause or two from the RIBA conditions which ap- pear to favour their conditions, and the stage is set for at least a dispute. probably an arbitration, and at worst an expensive lawsuit which ruins one or more of the opponents and secures a footnote in a lawbook which future barristers will quote to the embarrass- ment of generations yet unborn.

In concise form, the authors have shown how all parties to a contract should act and communicate in ac- curate and timely fashion so as to effect a completion without delays or disputes, or, if this be not possible to have available clear evidence on which reasoned argument is possible.

It is to be hoped that this book will not be judged on its homespun ap- pearance.

System Building 3, Housing, edited by Jane Shields and Sonya Mills. Publishers: Interbuild, Prefabrica-

tion Publications, Ltd. Price 8s. 6d.. including postage. Industrialised building systems cur- rently in use in this country for housing are covered in this third edition of "System Building." It also contains a 16-page section on struc- tural components, and an index listing prefabricated buildings for all pur- poses.

-

The main part of this edition is devoted to 76 systems, all of which have obtained contracts, mostly from local authorities. Systems are describ- ed under four headings History. structure, design disciplines and con- tracts. The first two show when a system came into existence. Design disciplines indicates flexibility of the system, and the contracts heading shows the number of houses required to make a contract economical.

Other systems for housing, includ- ing those very recently introduced and those under development, are listed in the book. The components section

has been expanded, and deals with structural elements for walls, floors and roofs, as well as with heart units and service cores.

Industrialised Building, vol. 2, by R.M.E. Diamant, MSc. Publishers: Iliffe Books, Ltd. Price 70s.

Following the style set by its successful predecessor, this volume presents a further 50 examples of prefabricated building techniques, selected from articles appearing in Architect and Building News.

The book is divided under three main headings, covering heavy con- crete and brickwork, framed construc- tion and special units, In the first section, multi-storey dwellings and small houses are described, together with the construction of small blocks of flats.

Framed construction methods are divided into those applicable to large structures, and those suitable for pri- vate houses and similar erections. The third section of the book details four of the most recent developments in the field of "heart units.'

Each article is well illustrated by photographs taken at all stages of erection, supplemented by detailed line drawings and sections. In an age of increasing industrialisation in the construction field, here is a book which will be of great value to archi- tects and planners alike.

HONG KONG GOVERNMENT CONTRACTS (Continued from page 79)

Supply of metal windows and doors China Steel Works for fire services headquarters. central Ltd. stores and workshops, North Point,

Hong Kong. $120,130,

Annual contract 1965/66 for supply Dreyer & Co., Ltd. and repair of asphalt, vinyl and vinyl

asbestos floor tiling in new and exist-

ing Government buildings. $132,667.

Electrical installation for Kwai Chung The China Engineers, (Area 28) resettlement factories, Nos. Ltd. 3 and 4. $107,820.

Supply of metal windows for annex Canton Metal Window school, block 4, Shek Lei resettlement Manufacturing Co. estate (Area "A") $14.400.

Ltd.

Annual contract 1965/66 for supply Webster Venetian and maintenance of venetian blinds Blind Co.

in Government buildings. $60.000.

Supply and laying of asphalt roofing Dreyer & Co. Ltd. to Eastern police station, Hong Kong.

$22,817.

Supply and laying of mastic asphalt Sino-British (Hong tanking and roofing for fire services Kong) Ltd. headquarters, central stores and workshops, North Point, Hong Kong.

$17.620.

Supply and laying of floor and wall Dreyer & Co., Ltd. tiling at fire services headquarters.

central stores and workshops. North

Point, Hong Kong. $82,409.

Far East Architect & Builder February, 1966

Gas installation at professorial block. The Queen Mary Hospital, Hong $10,972.

Hong Kong & Kong. China Gas Co., Ltd. Supply and installation of aircondi- Winsome

Co. tioning plant, kitchen exhaust and gineers & ventilation system at sisters' and Ltd. nurses' quarters, Queen Mary Hos- pital, Hong Kong. $45,200.

Supply of metal windows for annex China Steel school. Block "D1". Tze Wan Shan Works Ltd. Resettlement Estate. $13.800.

Electrical installation for additional Ward Blocks at Castle Peak Hospital. $89.900.

(En. Builders)

The

British General Electric Co. Ltd.

Electric Co., Ltd.

Electrical installation for Yau Ma Tei The British General Health Centre. $167,800.

Supply of asbestos cement goods for Shek Lei Resettlement Estate (Area "B"), Block 9. $86,043.

Tsing Yi Island Industries Ltd.

Supply and laying of floor and wall Dreyer & Co., Ltd. tiling at abattoir inspectorate staff

quarters. Kennedy Town. $26,572.

Piling to foundations for Plover Cove Kee Yip Construction Rehousing. Stage II. Tai Po. $211,000. Co., Ltd.

HONG KONG HOUSING AUTHORITY Fuk Loi Estate, Phase II(a) Tsuen Hong Kong Tilt-Up Wan General Contract $1,206,463. Corporation Ltd.

81