March_1968 — Page 7

Hong Kong delegates report on ...

CAA CONFERENCE

IN SINGAPORE

THE Hong Kong Society of Architects should take a much greater interest in the Commonwealth Association of Archi- tects (CAA) and more particularly the Regional organisa- tion. This view is expressed by the Society's delegates to the recent CAA conference in Singapore, Mr. Andrew Lee King Fun and Mr. Jon A. Prescott.

In their report on the conference they say that they were made conscious of Hong Kong's isolation. “We do not concern ourselves with many of the problems of the Region despite the similarity of some of these with our own," they state.

As an example, the delegates point out that at a time when Hong Kong was preparing its Architects Ordinance nearly all the member countries were either involved in a similar activity or were anxious to be so. There was an obvious interest in the new methods of construction to be found in the region, the standards used and methods of development, the status of the architect, particularly with reference to legislation on his standing and possible volun- tary reciprocal arrangements for practice within the mem- her countries.

The delegates make the following notes on some of the major topics which were discussed at the conference:

1. Architects Registration, Codes of Conduct, Scales of

Fees.

The initiative taken by the HKSA in connection with Registration of Architects is in line with work in Malaysia and Singapore. Malaysia has in fact already succeeded in obtaining legislative approval of an Architects Act in parallel with similar acts for engineers and surveyors. Warning might be taken from their attempt to legislate for a minimum scale of fees which in the process of legal drafting and processing through the Parliament was chang- ed from a minimum scale to a maximum scale!

Pressure should be exerted in Hong Kong to obtain the necessary legislative acceptance of the draft Ordin- ance, the aims of which thoroughly accord with the gen- eral aims expressed during the Regional Conference.

With regard to the question of Scales of Fees, Hong Kong's is in great need of revision and refinement. Par- ticular reference may be made to the work of the Indian Institute of Architects in connection with a Scale of Fees which is related to the building type and the work load on the architect, rather than the actual cost of the pro- ject.

2. Professional Qualifications

Movements towards the establishment of membership of National Institutes as a prerequisite for practice in a particular country are being followed in Singapore and Malaysia by a use of SIA and APAM as a professional affix in lieu of ARIBA or similar. The linking of re- gistration of the members of the profession with member- ship of the Institute was in fact recommended by the Con- ference, though the separation of registration was felt to have some advantages by some participants.

In an era when reciprocity of qualifications is being sought the relationship of such new affixes with the ARIBA needs careful consideration. That this is true for people in Hong Kong probably needs no emphasis.

The impression gained was that in most countries

Far East Architect & Builder March, 1968

represented at the Conference the National Institutes took an active role in the questions of architectural education. 3. Mid-career Courses

The Conference urged the various Institutes to set up mid-career courses in Planning, Management and Build- ing Services and other technological subjects so as to aug- ment and up-date the education of architects. The Uni- versity of Hong Kong with the help of staff of the School of Architecture and others in the Colony and through the aegis of the Department of Extra-Mural Studies has in fact been consciously providing such courses over the last two sessions in Hong Kong. It is however doubtful whether the Members are in fact taking advantage of this provision and greater co-ordination of our efforts is per- haps required.

One of the conference resolutions draws attention to the problems of the Region in finding professional teach- ing staff and the recommendations for a Regional Post- Graduate level Centre for the training of such staff as well as for research was considered of prime importance. Hong Kong needs to take action here by nominating a member as a representative to the committee which is to be established so as to work towards the setting up of such a Centre.

4. Professional Practice

The surveys relating to the professional conditions prevailing in the countries which are implicit in the acceptance of the second objective outlined by the Con- ference would need the appointment of a Research Fellow or similar for a reasonable period of say 12 months. This has recently been done in Singapore.

It would demand a mind capable of the collation of available statistical material and a general ability to ex- amine the profession's practical problems. We would like to recommend to the Council of HKSA that funds be provided for this and a Fellowship awarded worth say $800 to $1,000 per month to be taken up by a recent architectural graduate. Such a person would probably need to be appointed in such a way as to receive consider- able guidance from a mature mind in the profession to ensure full coverage of the suggested terms of reference.

This is however a very desirable programme of work which could be a parallel for Hong Kong of the type of research done recently for the RIBA if properly follow- ed up. The questions related to the promotion of stable conditions for practice are intimately related to those of the state of the profession and its Codes of Practice and efficiency and the whole subject of the cohesion and or- ganisation of the architectural service provided for the community by our members should be examined.

5. Policies

The sense of permanence and long term policy which is implicit in some of the points made above is perhaps naturally more evident in countries like Malaysia and Singapore than can be expected in Hong Kong after the recent disturbances (or even before). The planning and building for the future is reflected in the quality of archi- tectural achievement and the apparently greater interest in general design of the environment, urban renewal, etc.

The promotion of competitions especially under pre- sent political conditions in Hong Kong could do much however to stimulate interest in the profession and foster better work, whilst at the same time providing opportunity for new talent to come to the fore.

In Singapore recent competitive entry for a whole series of urban renewal projects has produced results of an encouraging standard.

6. Preservation of Historic Buildings

We were struck by the interest expressed in the pre- servation of historic buildings by the various countries. In as far as this should be a function of the planning authority it would seem worth drawing the HK Govern- ment's attention to the need for preservation of some evidence of the recent past where buildings have architec- tural value. A list of scheduled buildings should be pre- pared by HKSA for the guidance of Government in its planning function and in connection with lease control.

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