No_5_May_and_June__1949 — Page 79

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· PERSPECTIVE

APARTMENT ON 1 L.6071 WONG NEL CHONG GAP ROAD

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TYPICAL FLOOR PLAN-

RAVENSPUR APARTMENTS

The architect's perspective drawing above gives a vivid picture of the appearance of the buildings. The garages and main entranceways on the lower ground floor, the arrange- ment of the front verandahs and the emphasized vertical lines of the stairhall walling ате the features which give character to the design. The photograph on the left is a recent view of the development.

Any firm or individual who is engaged in erecting apartments which will eventually provide civilized accom- modation for residents of Hong Kong can be assured their efforts are being viewed with utmost approval, for each of the many hundreds of families still in need of flats feels that every building erected brings them nearer to the day when a home of their own will be made available to them.

On 1.L.6071, Wong Nei Chong Gap Road, just above its junction with Stubbs and Tai Hang Roads are now being erected a group of two buildings each containing six flats, making a total of twelve much needed apartments.

People who passed this area when site formation work first started for this development will remember their wonder at the sheer cutting that was being made into the steep hillside and their conjectures as to the shape and type of building which would be expected to cling so precariously on such a precipitous slope. The height above the main highway also made it appear downright im- possible to bring a road to the building and it was assumed that steep steps would have to be provided for access.

However, room was made not only for one building but for two. The years of experience in taming Hong Kong's difficult terrain which Mr. A. R. F. Raven, the architect for this project, brought to bear on the problem

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could not be better illustrated than in the able manner in which the site formation work was carried out. As a result of his engineering skill and architectural ability, there is rapidly nearing completion a group of buildings which are not only most attractive from an aesthetic point of view, but which, in addition and of equal importance, manages to incorporate garages into the lower ground floors and to provide a comparatively wide terrace in front of these garages which leaves ample room for the passage and manoeuvring of motor cars. The roadway leading to this terrace is necessarily fairly steep, but not uncomfortably so, as the gradient, particularly at the upper end, has been carefully worked out and adjusted for the traffic it must bear.

The success of the development has depended upon the proper design and placing of the series of retaining walls which contain the area. A visit to the site will disclose how cleverly these have been disposed to provide the maximum levelled area to an otherwise impossible site. The height of the cutting at the rear of the buildings is a gauge of the amount of cutting and filling that went into the forming of this area.

The design of the buildings and the disposition of the rooms is illustrated above and requires no further comment.

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