No_3_March_1969 — Page 19

College hall shaped by acoustic design

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COMPLETED recently at Dumbarton Road, Kowloon, Hong Kong, the new assembly hall of the Munsang College is a departure from the usual rectan- gular box-shape for two reasons first because the college owners requested it and secondly because the architec- tural form is a direct outcome of the acoustical requirements.

Often auditoria have an expensive acoustic shell inside the structure but in this building structure and acoustic shape are one. The sloping roof of the hall acts as a sound reflector and also reduces the volume of the hall to give a satisfactory reverberation time for speech without the need for costly acoustic treatment.

MUNSANG COLLEGE COUNCIL

SPENCE ROBINSON

PETER Y.S. PUN & ASSOCIATES

LOCKWOOD CONSTRUCTION CO. LTD.

The new extension consists of an assembly hall accommodating 956 seats at first floor and balcony level, with six classrooms and a covered play- ground below. It replaces an old smaller hall and the same number of class- rooms, but occupies much less of the site to give more open playground area.

Differing ground levels on the site made it possible to link the new hall closely to the existing school buildings. The length of the hall, 151ft. 6in.,

owners

architects

structural engineers

main contractor

was determined by the existing build- ings, while the span was decided after detailed consideration of a number of factors affecting the cost per seat. These factors included: the increase in structural cost with an increase in span; the decrease in proportion of external wall area with increase in span; and changes in cost per seat related to gangways required by the HK Public Entertainment Regulations. The hall will be used occasionally for public

Far East BUILDER, March 1969

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