January_1970 — Page 7

Third Asian Conference

Commonwealth Association of Architects

'THE image of the architect is as- suming new dimensions. His interests must now be not only in the realm of building but also in the creation of a new and better environment which is tailored to meet the needs, the land which is available and the purse of the country which he serves.'

With these remarks, Hong Kong's director of public works, The Hon. J.J. Robson, declared open the Third Asian Regional Conference of The Commonwealth Association of Archi-

tects.

Delegates from six nations - Hong Kong, India, Malaysia, Ceylon, Pakis- tan and Singapore - attended the con- ference, which was held in Hong Kong from December 5 to 8.

Mr. Robson told the delegates: 'We in Hong Kong feel that at least in the field of high density development - both residential and industrial we have evolved new standards, suited to the needs and conditions which may at present be peculiar to Hong Kong but which may well in the future provide experience on which the rest of the world will wish to draw.

'Approximately one third of our population now lives in Government housing of one sort or another. Many estates, one housing around 170,000 persons, have been built on steep and rugged hillsides which in many parts of the world would have been dismissed out of hand as impossible for develop- ment.

'However, while such building may be spectacular, the real problem is planning to build the equivalent of one medium-sized English town each year, complete with its water supply, drain- age, sewerage, roads, markets, shops, schools, clinics, welfare centres, amusements, cleansing and all things required for modern living. Planning on this scale becomes a communal effort and the expertise required even for the basic approach of where estates can and should be built cannot be either developed overnight or without

Far East BUILDER, January 1970

J.J. Robson

experience of the practical problems of first building, then filling, and then running the estates.'

If Hong Kong had anything offer outside architects, said Mr. Robson, it was that this achievement was not the work of any one person or profession but by a team which comprised archi- tects, engineers, planners and those

Building on hillsides to densities of 1,500 per acre

who later had to fill, manage and collect the rents of the properties.

This close collaboration between the professions was necessary in the planning and construction of any modern building, he said, and sug- gested this as a suitable theme for a future conference.

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Turning to the theme of this con- ference Government Aided Housing - and the fact that an unbiased con- sultant was to take a dispassionate look at the conflicting interests said to exist in this field, Mr. Robson re- marked:

'I wonder where we are going to find such a man, or group of persons, with any knowledge of the needs of a community such as ours where we have of necessity to plan for a density of over 1,500 persons per acre.

"The only group I can think of is yourselves', he concluded.