January_1968 — Page 14

Student block with upper circulation route in foreground

Upper circulation route surrounding dining hall

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ICCI HALL

a hall of residence

RIC for the Jesuit Order in Hong

Kong houses 125 students of the University of Hong Kong during part of their undergraduate life and pro- vides study and dining facilities for a further 200 non-residents.

It is built on the site of a former residential block which was opened in 1929 and accommodated only 35 students. The site is on the north side of Pokfulam Road, immediately above the Belcher Garden Estate. There is a gentle slope from Pokfulam Road over the majority of the site which then drops away steeply on three sides. Prior to the erection of the old Ricci Hall the site, which commands wide views of the harbour, had been used as a defence fortress.

Apart from the places for 125 stu- dents, the accommodation includes re- sidential quarters for ten senior staff members, a chapel, a dining hall, kitchens, library, reading rooms, games rooms and a general office. This ac- commodation was designed round certain basic tenets which have given the buildings a very positive spatial arrangement internally. This in turn has been allowed to dictate an in- formal grouping of the buildings,

First it was considered that all students needed a private area for study and living and although the rooms provided are small a total of 80 sq. ft. they fulfil this basic need. Every student can close his door and have privacy. Each has an area for outside sitting and each can express his own individuality within a separate room and can work un- disturbed.

Second, the psychological need' of a small group of neighbours and friends, especially for the freshmen, is fulfilled. The students are grouped eight to ten per corridor the social organisation of the traditional 'Ox- bridge' stair having been translated into a horizontal grouping in this essentially multi-storey approach the problem.

to

Identity within a group is necessary. but the Hall itself has been expressed as the focus for the whole student body. The buildings have been ar- ranged in plan and section so that all staircase towers leading to student groups emerge at the principal level forming a gallery around the square hall.

Double Focus

In fact there will ultimately be a double focus the hall and the chapel. Each of these two elements is a perfect square on plan and the two are related, but at different levels, so that the main entry to the building, while leading direct to the chapel (still under construction) also leads to the gallery and main stairs down to the hall itself.

At the gallery level also are found the common rooms, lounges, writing rooms and studios which are used by all students at different times for group activities. The gallery has glazed walls looking into the hall, al-

Far East Architect & Builder January, 1968