June_1970 — Page 15

GARDEN CO. LTD.

PALMER & TURNER

IN baking as in building, the trade has moved on from father-to-son opera- tion catering for small numbers, to a technological process where speed and output is the criterion.

With The Garden Co.'s new bakery at Tsun Wan in the New Territories, the comparison between the two trades is particularly valid since in both spheres of the project the pro- duction of the bread and the designing of a building to house the process the computer has played an all im- portant role.

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client

architects and engineers

PAUL Y CONSTRUCTION CO. LTD.

PAUL LEE ENGINEERING CO.

An output of 3,500 lb. of bread per hour is achieved by the baking plant, which is semi-automatic - that that is, the mixing equipment, conveyor ovens, cooling and wrapping functions are controlled by only seven workers. Later, when a second production unit is installed, the whole operation will be computer-controlled for fully auto- matic 24-hour working.

To house the plant, and make the building easily extendable to take the second production unit, the architects first made a study of the bread manu-

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main contractor

piling

facturing process a linear flow from storage and preparation to mixing, baking, cooling, wrapping, packing, loading and then dispatch.

The site available for the plant, an area of 69,800 sq.ft., lies between two existing rectangular buildings set at different angles. A further rectangular building was quite unsuitable as a development link; a 'non-directional' shape was called for.

The manufacturing process was adapted from a linear to a circular flow and from this evolved a series of

Interior of spaceframe roof

Far East BUILDER, June 1970

"PASSAGES CONE MOUN

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South elevation

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