No_4_December_1964 — Page 76

Already in the financial year 1964- 65 it is estimated that 10-15% of all new work in Britain will employ some kind of system and as much as 45% of all local authorities' flats will be constructed using industrialised methods. At the present time a pilot scheme of system building is being tried out in Singapore.

When there is such a demand for housing here in the Colony, especially low-cost housing, then the sooner we give these new methods a trial the better. Certainly they would not be the complete answer to all our build- ing problems. In many cases, on restricted sites, with tall buildings and other complicated structures, the only answer is custom building. Yet there is no doubt that a large proportion of building carried out in the Colony could be done by industrialised methods. Using either "factory casting" or "site casting" a start could be made using a partial system. Later we could move over to the use of full systems.

By employing some industrialised building our labour problems here in the Colony would be alleviated, many craftsmen would be replaced by semi- skilled workers. Conventional "one- off" tendering would give way to more economical methods. With the big demand for housing in the Colony contractors would have no difficulty in obtaining a full order book so that continuity of production could be maintained, an essential condition for low costs. If an "open system" were used it would be possible to fit modular doors and windows and other units within standard grids. This method allows for variety while still using standardisation. All com- ponents would be adaptable and could be assembled into a wide variety of buildings.

In Britain a National Building Agency is prepared to give advice on system building for the asking, They are trying hard to get away from "one-off" buildings and to replace these methods by standard elements. If we in Hong Kong really mean to move with the times and to take advantage of the progress made by research in Britain and other countries then we too must sooner or later employ a large percentage of system building.

Mechanical Equipment

In the Colony, in recent years, we have seen the introduction of climb- ing cranes but the number is still very limited. No doubt before long we shall see far more, as well as cranes of greater capacity and with bigger "converage". With the introduction

70

▲ Old ways are retained where labour is cheap.

A

In more industrialised countries, modern techniques, such as the "Lift Slab" method for placing floors, are now employed. (Construction consists of erecting a frame and then hoisting into position the concrete floors which are all pre-cast at ground level).