No_4_December_1961 — Page 56

A secondary entrance to the lobby is provided from the motor court, which is separated from Loke Yew Street by an enclosing wall and which provides covered storage for the consulate cars as well as facilities for drivers and car wash and repairs. A mail room and receiving room for freight and supplies also open off this court.

The Armenian Street entrance and lobby serves the cultural facilities of the U.S. Information Agency which can be isolated from the remainder of the building to allow their use outside of consular office hours. Internal supervision of circulation between the various areas is provid ed by centrally located security offices.

To the right of this lobby is the entrance to the library, designed to provide space for 15,000 volumes on subjects of local public interest. A separate reference room is provided near the charging desk. The library opens out through full height glass panels to a view of the expanse of lawn of the Armenian Church.

From the lobby a stair leads down to a basement theaterette, complete with projection room, which may also be used for exhibits. Adjoining the theaterette is a film. radio and audio-visual library with storage and repair facilities.

The remainder of the basement. accessible from the office portion of

the building, contains a staff snack bar, the library work room, and storage and mechanical rooms.

Above the ground floor are three floors of consular offices, generally arranged in order of convenience by their requirements with respect to public use, with the press, publica tions, and cultural affairs offices of the U.S. Information Agency located on the first floor.

The mass of the building is deter- mined by the central corridor plan of the upper floors, arranged to allow maximum flexibility of use within the limits of the structural system.

Floor-to-ceiling glass panels are used at all office spaces and sun control is provided by cantilevering the slabs at each floor level to sup- port vertical fins of anodized alumi- num which form a screen extending entirely around the three upper floors, This device was selected in pre- ference to pierced grills or louvres to prevent the staining effect of wind-blown dirt and fungus in joints and corners, since the smooth, un- broken vertical surfaces allow rain- water run-off.

In Singapore's equatorial latitude. the fins serve to provide periodic shade from sunlight on all four sides of the building. Windows are easily accessible for cleaning from the run- way formed by the cantilevers be- hind the screen.

The structural system consists of reinforced concrete beams and co- lumns supporting concrete floor and roof slabs. Interior partitions are of reinforced concrete and brick. The basement structure rests on pre-cast concrete piles, and is surrounded with a brick-covered membrane to resist the prevalent subsurface water.

Exterior surfaces in general are of granolithic finish with pre-cast granolithic cills, copings and mul lions. Roof and deck surfaces are of concrete roof tiles laid over a roofing membrane.

Interior floors are generally of vinyl and rubber tile, with terrazzo used in the ground floor public areas. Walls are plastered, except for cer- tain areas where vertical teak panel. ling is used. In the entrance lobby, the wall behind the control desk is of travertine marble. Ceilings are generally of acoustic tile. Doors and finished woodwork are of natural finished teak. The building is air-conditioned throughout.

Sub-contractors and suppliers in-

clude:

AIR-CONDITIONING: Interna. tional Air Conditioning Co. Ltd. PLUMBING: Tong Nam Contrac-

tors Ltd. ELECTRICAL:

Co. Ltd.

R.E. Morris &

LIFT: Otis Elevator Company. MARBLE: Raul Bigazzi (H.K.) Agents: A Clouet & Co. (S) Ltd. ALUMINIUM WINDOWS:

William Jacks & Co. Ltd. and Crittall Manufacturing Co. Ltd. WATERPROOFING: Guthrie &

Co. Ltd.

PAINTS: Diethelm & Co. Ltd. and Imperial Chemical Indus-

tries.

VENETIAN BLINDS: James

Miller & Co. (M) Ltd.

GLASS: Kwong Kum Sun Chan ALUMINIUM LOUVRES AND TRASH CHUTE: Diethelm & Co. Ltd.

ALUMINIUM TERRAZZO

STRIPS: Imperial Chemical Industries.

TERRAZZO: The China Engineers

Ltd.

ALUMINIUM COLLAPSIBLE

GATES: Guthrie & Co. Ltd. PLASTERS & KEENS CEMENT:

Hecla.

The Consul General's office.