January_1968 — Page 9

world news

US$55 Million Apartment Development in Los Angeles

WORK is now under way on the first stage of the Bunker Hill Towers project in Los Angeles a US$55 million private scheme to build 1,750 apartments in one 40-storey, one 35-storey, one 30-storey, two 17-storey blocks and a series of two- and three-storey structures. Landscaped plazas will surround the blocks and underground parking will be provided for about 2,400 cars.

The first stage will comprise the 30-storey tower, a steel-framed structure, and the two 17-storey blocks which will be of reinforced concrete construction. Apartments

Bunker Hill Towers

iron

will range from one-room studios of 525 sq. ft. to four- bedroom penthouse apartments of 2.200 sq. ft.

Architects for the scheme, which is promoted by City Reconstruction Corp. and Bunker Hill Redevelopment Co., Los Angeles, are Robert E. Alexander and Associates.

New Process Will Produce Cheaper Coloured Glass

THE British glass manufacturers, Pilkington Bros. Ltd. who originated the float process for making flat glass have announced the development of a new technique which enables the mass production capabilities of modern float plants to be harnessed to the economic production of small quantities of glass with special characteristics.

Among the glass it can produce are the specially tint- ed types used as windows to reduce excessive glare and heat and to enhance the appearance of buildings.

Pilkington state that a float line which would norm- ally run non-stop for five years, and which in the course

Far East Architect & Builder January, 1968

Float glass line

of a single year would make a ribbon of glass 130 in. wide and about 1,500 miles long, can now produce as little as one mile (50,000 sq. ft.) of special glass profitably. The cost of converting a £5 million float line is about £15,000. The equipment takes only two hours to install, after which special glasses can be made within minutes.

For the first time the normal characteristics of high quality clear glass can be deliberately changed during con- tinuous manufacture. Many permutations of heat and light transmission and aesthetic properties can be produc- ed at the flick of a switch. The heart of the system is an electro-chemical system which drives metallic ions into glass to a controlled depth and intensity while the ribbon is advancing. By this system the same heat and light transmission performance can be obtained in the glass irrespective of its thickness.

So far the surface modification process has been used to produce commercial quantities of three tinted glasses in the range grey-bronze to copper-bronze with special heat, light and colour filtering properties.

Electric Blankets Used on Tower Construction

A 20-FT. LONG skirt of electric blankets was used to con- trol the temperature of setting concrete in the construction of Liverpool's 450 ft. St. John's Beacon. This tapering tower, with an 80 ft. diameter superstructure containing a revolving restaurant and viewing gallery, was completed in mid-winter, making it necessary to heat unmixed con- crete materials with electric blankets

water with immersion heaters

and protect setting concrete against low temperatures and high winds.

The beacon is part of the rapid and intensive re- development of the centre of this British seaport city. Its column is tapered and its wall thick- ness reduced simultaneously, necessitat- ing continuous readjustment of the shuttering while on he move.

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The main structure was completed in a little over two months it "grew" at an average speed of 101⁄2 in. per hour. In addition to two flues, the shaft will have two high-speed lifts and an emergency staircase inside. To en- sure lightning protection, all reinforce- ment bars are welded to form a helix of 15 in. pitch. Wind tunnel tests have proved the beacon capable of withstand- ing wind gusts of over 150 mph.

St. John's Beacon

Liverpool

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