March_1971 — Page 25

THT

Blood centre added to KL medical complex

WITH the December opening of the National Blood Services Centre in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia achieved a na- tional headquarters for the expanding and vitally important blood services in the country. The building, which cost M$500,000 to build, was finished in 15 months, excluding several months initially to clear the site and reroute existing services and roads.

The location for the building is in the hospital reserve in the centre of the Federal Capital, in close proximity to the general hospital, now under re- construction, and the Institute of Medical Research. There is access by road to the various specialist institutes which the Government has built or is building in the reserve, and by heli- copter from the hospital helicopter landing pad, to other Government hos- pitals around the country.

Far East BUILDER, March 1971

MINISTRY OF HEALTH, MALAYSIA

WELLS AND JOYCE

QS BRANCH, PWD

OVE ARUP & PARTNERS

THOMAS ANDERSON & PARTNERS

TAN KOK HUA CONSTRUCTION

The site chosen was small for building of this size and roughly tri- angular, bounded on the west by Jalan Pahang (now being upgraded to a dual carriageway), on the north and east by existing hospital buildings and on the south by the Institute of Medical Re- search.

There was a fall of approximately 6ft. from north to south and ad- vantage was taken of this to sink the building down into the ground 4ft. at the north, both to reduce its apparent height and to allow for a future tunnel

client

architects

quantity surveyors

structural engineers

consulting engineers

main contractors

from the entrance to the future hos pital carpark to the north.

Chosen largely for its position on Jalan Pahang, one of Kuala Lumpur's main thoroughfares, the site has strong public exposure and will be easily ac- cessible for potential blood donors. The ground at the north west corner has been banked up around the build- ing, both to act as a jumping off point for a future pedestrian bridge over Jalan Pahang and as part of the general modelling of the ground around the building. This bank also serves to con-

19

Page 25Page 26

16

AAGT

*

Ground floor plan

I

First floor plan

Section A-A

20