January_1965 — Page 18

Australian architect, Alan R. Gilbert, ARAIA, describes

his design for ...

An Island Hospital near Macau

i

HE PROPOSED Social Recupera- Ttion Rose is situate

Taipa Hospital as it will be seen from the shoreline

for а modern hospital building having efficient natural ventilation and improved facilities to meet the needs of many patients who suffer from various forms of tuberculosis.

island of Taipa, about three miles from Macau, Taipa consists of three small mountains connected over the years by land reclamation which will continue until Taipa is linked with the other Macanese island of Coloane about two miles beyond.

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The centre accommodates average of 70 mental neurosis patients and about 300 drug addicts. The average period of recuperation is about 10 months.

Previously many internees were returned on release to their families and friends in Macau. This return to their old environment often proved undesirable as past associations were renewed and past habits revived.

As part of a plan for the extension of facilities including the new hos- pital, several farming villages are being built on Coloane to house and rehabilitate recuperated addicts and their families.

Until now patients requiring hos- pitalisation have been housed in a building that was previously the Portuguese Army Headquarters for the island. This accommodation is inadequate and the need is apparent

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Local Study

I first visited Taipai in February 1964, and met the commandant of the centre, Lieutenant Fernando Cor- reia Marques who invited me to be his guest.

This gesture provided me with the opportunity to study the life and buildings of the small Chinese village of about 8,000 inhabitants on the island and as small recompense for the hospitality I received I designed on an honorary basis, a new hospital for the centre.

A monetary grant for the construc- tion of the building has been given by the United Nations World Health Organization. The structural design has been executed by Eng. Gaby Maria de Sena Fernandes who will also supervise the reinforced concrete structure and is working similarly on an honorary basis.

The hospital will be sited on the north-east side of a compound that

has been cut and filled against stone retaining walls around an escarpment rising from the sea. The quarried peak of this escarpment has provided basalt for existing buildings and walls, and will provide most of the aggregate for the new building.

The compound which is the nucleus of outdoor activites at the centre is bounded on the north-west side by the existing converted army head- quarters. This building is a 19th cen- tury Portuguese building of strong character having deep recessed open- ings with arched lintols and a cascel- lated tower which supports the local storm warning beacon. To the south-west in front of the quarry, are recent recreation, dining and ad- ministration buildings,

From the north to the south quadrant on the east side of the compound, one has a magnificent view of the sea 50 ft. below, and of a horizon scattered with islands from Lan Tao in the distance to Coloane across the strait. This setting, idyllic by nature, is a perfect repose for such a hospital.

A necessarily stringent economy, easy maintenance, comparatively un- skilled labour and limited techniques

Far East Architect & Builder January, 1965