No_4_December_1963 — Page 123

because much of his merchandise comes from that country and the natural choice was Signor Ponti, who designed the well-known Pirelli build- ing in Milan.

Working on the theory that "the goods displayed. the goods half sold.” Mr. Baptista broke with tradition and decided to have split floor levels for the shop there are altogether eight floor levels in four storeys.

A wide staircase was built around a central well, and from all positions on the staircase it is possible to see no less than three shopping levels, To attract customers to the upper floors it was also necessary to make access to these floors easy. Landings have been provided in the staircase so that there are not more than seven steps in any one flight.

The scheme has apparently worked out satisfactorily, as is evident by the number of shoppers seen at all times.

▲ Effect of the tapering "V" shape beams with the lighting troughs marking the lowest point is clearly seen in this shopping floor scene. The pleasing result is achieved without having to resort to a false ceiling.

on the upper floors. The value of these floors has, therefore, been enhanced and whereas in normal buildings these would only command a low office rental. in this case the value of these floors to the depart- ment store approaches that of the ground floor. This increase in return offsets the additional cost of the building incurred by the design of the structure which is conspicuous by the absence of internal columns.

The decision to eliminate all in- ternal columns arose from statistics which, at the time of planning, show- ed that many department stores in the U.S.A. had frequently to incur considerable expenses in alterations

THE HONG KONG & FAR EAST BUILDER-VOLUME 18, NUMBER 4

to meet the increasing necessity of interchanging the locations of the various departments of the stores. The presence of internal columns often required considerable altera- tions to furniture which otherwise could be designed to standard modules.

To span the uncommonly wide space of 60 ft.. particularly in multi- storey buildings. the beams in the conventional design would have to be of considerable depth. thereby neces sitating greater storey heights and the use of false ceilings to avoid the appearance of heaviness. In this case. the structural designer made the sec- tion of the beams 3 ft. x 3 ft. at the supports and tapering virtually to a "V" shape in section at the centre, The arrangement of the lighting troughs along these beams also helps to reduce the appearance of overhead weight. resulting in a pleasing effect without the use of false ceilings.

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