No_4_May_and_June__1950 — Page 43

Detail of Native Treatment.

HALK

Two photographs of the Living Room.

In order to take the best advantage of the view one corner of the house was built out beyond the edge of the slope on a retaining wall. In front of this a timber deck was built out over the tops of small trees on the slope below. One large existing tree has been preserved and is allowed to grow through the centre of this deck to provide a natural sunshade.

The most interesting view from the side window is downwards at an angle of 30° onto the tops of the tung vil trees and the waterfall. As the prevailing winds are N.E. and S.W. this window is not important for ventilation and it was therefore decided to treat it as a fixed plate glass picture window, sloping out at an angle in order to con- centrate the view downwards.

Good cross-ventilation was obtained in spite of the somewhat narrow site by separating the bedroom from the living room by a paved courtyard which serves as an out- door dining room in fine weather. One side of the court- yard is open and has a flower bed built up on dry stone walling over which is a view across the valley to Lion Rock.

The fireplace is built into a detached screen wall which hides the doors to kitchen, bathroom and hotroom, and provides useful storage space at the back. The study recess has built-in furniture including a settee which can be converted into a bed. When in use as a bedroom, or as a changing room for swimming, sliding screens cut this recess off from the main part of the living room. Built-in

The Study Recess of the Living Room.

cupboards, screened by a curtain on the living room side, divide the hotroom from the study recess. Above these is storage space accessible from the hotroom side for trunks and suitcases.

The bedroom, which is also used as a studio, has a window from floor to ceiling across the whole width of one end wall.

The choice of materials was controlled largely by the necessity for economy. Walls are therefore of local granite in the roughly squared blocks in which the material is delivered from the quarries, and the roof consists of two layers of Chinese tiles, with an air space between, laid on 4" X 7" vertical battens on fir poles. 15 feet is the maximum economical span for these poles, but as it was wished to take the living room across the whole frontage of the house the roof is supported 15 feet from the outer wall by a row of fir poles. This forms the framing for the sliding screens mentioned above. As the roof con- struction is similar to that used in the local villages the roofers were given a free hand to decorate the ridge and eaves in the traditional manner.

Wooden French windows open inwards and fold right back giving clear openings to courtyard and verandah. Louvred shutters fitted with mosquito gauze open outwards,

External walls are left in the natural grey stone. The roof is black with white decoration. Windows are painted white and the louvred shutters canary yellow.

Internally the structural walls are also left in the natural stone. The curved screen wall is of 41" brick, plastered and distempered a warm grey. The fireplace surround is of granite with recesses on either side for logs.

The roof is left open on the underside with the tiles and battens colourwashed ivory and the beams left in their natural finish and oiled. The fir poles supporting the roof are also left untrimmed in their natural colour and polished. The floor of the living room is of cork tiles. Remaining floors are of polished black cement tiles. Paving in the courtyard is precast with strips of grass growing between the slabs. Paving in front of the house is of granite.

Architect: John F. Howorth A.R.I.B.A. of Leigh &

Orange.

General Contractor: Hung Yick Construction Co.

Detail of the Fireplace detached screen wall.

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