No_3_March_and_April__1950 — Page 29

TRICITY

HOUSE

A view of the building fronting on Ice House Street

The rapid growth of Hong Kong in post-war years has, of course resulted in tremendously increased demands for electric power for all purposes, domestic, manufacturing, lighting etc. This situation has taxed the existing capacity of the power stations to the utmost, and as a result of the difficulties experienced in obtaining deliveries of additional equipment required to produce sufficient power to keep pace with the demand, the ingenuity of the engineers has been exercised to the full. Not the least of their troubles has been concerned with the development of the distribution system, the building of substations and the installation of the necessary transformers and switchgear at strategic points for the economic transfer of high tension power and its efficient conversion to low tension circuits. The main system of the Hong Kong Electric Co., Ltd. covering the City of Victoria, centred on their substation at Duddell Street which was designed and built during that placid era long before Hong Kong's present population and its hectic requirements was ever dreamed of.

The insufficiency of this important installation resulted in a situation which was rapidly getting desperate when the company was fortunate in acquiring the site on Zetland Street formerly occupied by the Masonic Hall, This enabled them to proceed with the creation of a modern building to replace the antiquated structure on Duddell Street and the incorpora- tion of facilities ample for present and future requirements.

Tricity House, the new headquarters of the Distribution department of the Hong Kong Electric Co., Ltd., was recently completed and work on the necessary installations started immediately.

When the Hong Kong Electric Co., Ltd., bought the site from the Zetland Hall Trustees, it was the only suitable site available for their main purpose a direct link with the North Point Generating station at high voltage, with a distribution system for the central and western districts to replace Duddell Street substation. A new substation and switch room were to be incorporated in the new building, with the high voltage transformers outside in the yard at the back, and, in addition to these, ample office areas for the distribution staff and for

stores, quarters, etc. After various sketch schemes were worked out it was decided to have two flats per floor on the upper three floors with, if possible, a penthouse, making seven flats in all. The meter and mains sections would require a floor each, and the switch gear would be housed in the upper basement with distribution transformers in the lower basement.

The site presented a few difficulties. It fronts on Ice House Street, and is bounded on the west by Zetland Street and on the other two sides by scavenging lanes at the foot of massive retaining walls. The site which will be remem- bered by pre-war residents was full of debris from the Masonic Hall wrecked during the war, and, from the quantity of it, from several other buildings, as well. The upper retaining wall to the east was of lime concrete and had to be removed and new ones constructed. It was found that by excavating and running a new retaining wall across the site, two base- ment levels could be built which could contain the substation and stores below, and the switchroom, a fairly large meter store, and garage for resident's cars above. By setting the building back from Ice House Street a parking area to the front of the building which also forms the roof of the garage was provided off the street for office and visitors' cars. A retaining wall runs the length of the site on Ice House Street and down Zetland Street to the yard entrance, The old retaining walls to the north and the lower one to the east facing Dina House were left as they were being of granite and in good condition.

The building is of reinforced concrete frame construction with brick panel walls. The floors, except that in the switch- room, are of hollow block construction deep enough to span over the rooms in the flats, resulting in flat ceiling areas unbroken by projecting beams. Plumbing for the flats and the lavatories for the office staff is carried in ducts which also act as ventilators. These have a flat steel plate at the top held up by a fusible link device to block the ducts in case of fire. The layout of the various floors of the building had to be co-ordinated with the various requirements of the company. The penthouse, which it was found could be included in the design, and the flats all face towards the Peak.

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27

Tricity House as

seen from the Toof of Edinburgh

House