October_1967 — Page 4

ALUMINIUM DOMES

Two domes for a new mosque in Sabah have been or- dered from the Aluminium Division of Diethelm and Co. Ltd., Singapore. The domes will be used in Keningau, near Jesselton in Sabah.

Anodized to resist rust and corrosion, they are con- structed entirely of aluminium and are 18 ft. in diameter and 22 ft. 8 in. high.

Over the last few years, Diethelm have made 30 domes for mosques in Singapore and Malaysia.

Spire to be mounted above dome at Keningau

BUILDING PLANS APPROVED

THE Building Authority approved a total of 15 new build- ing plans of all types in Hong Kong, Kowloon and the New Territories last month. In the same period, newly- completed buildings certified for occupation numbered 44, showing a decrease of 17 as compared with July's total.

Of these new buildings, three were for domestic pur- poses, 15 for non-domestic purposes, and 26 for combined domestic and non-domestic use. The Building Authority also approved the demolition of one building in August.

Cost of new building work in the Colony in the month of August amounted to HK$51,363,442, while a total of HK$4,149,456 was spent on site formation work. In the same period there were 125 new buildings of all types erected. This total includes three factories and godowns, 10 offices and shops, 107 houses and flats and five other buildings of mixed accommodation.

New site works on Hong Kong Island for August fell substantially, but the volume in Kowloon and New Kow- loon improved. The Commissioner of Rating and Valua- tion reports that in August in the City of Victoria value of new site works registered total HK$1,216,152 com- pared with $2,020,093 for July, while outside the city the value was $229,195 compared with $3,773,906.

The figures for Kowloon, with July in parentheses, were $653,060 ($625,058) and for New Kowloon $2,051,- 049 ($748,280).

ARCHITECTS WANT OWN FACULTY

THE Singapore Institute of Architects has suggested that the School of Architecture in the Singapore Polytechnic should be made a faculty in the University of Singapore,

"I believe that discussions to convert the Polytechnic School of Architecture into a university establishment are in progress, and the conclusions are not yet known, be- yond the fact that the university will grant degrees," the

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SIA president, Mr. Lim Chong Keat, said last month,

"SIA has maintained an increasing interest in archi- tectural education over the past years and the establish- ment of our board of architectural education has brought with it a more formal interest in educational problems and standards. We would like to suggest that in the reorgani- sation, the School of Architecture should be made a separate faculty in the university in its own right, that is to say, it should not be submerged in the administrative framework of other disciplines.

"We feel that this will enable the school to grow much more rapidly; certainly it could be shown that such a separate faculty would not cost more than if the school were to be submerged within a larger faculty.

"We believe the school has a great future, especially if it widens its horizon to become a regional school, taking into its ambit the South East Asian region at large."

WATER SUPPLY INVESTIGATIONS

RAISING the height of the Plover Cove main dam by 12ft. toprovide another 10,000 million gallons storage and the development of further reservoirs of the Plover Cove type with systems of underground tunnels and intakes to in- tercept surplus flood water from the hills, are among long term plans being considered by Hong Kong Govern- ment to meet the Colony's growing needs for water.

Site investigations for future reservoirs in the Sai Kung Peninsular are to be undertaken by Binnie and Partners, consulting engineers. The particular areas to be studied are Long Harbour, Three Fathoms Cove and the channel between High Island and the mainland.

These investigations, which will begin in November and last for about six months, will involve small-scale engineering works necessary to make trial bore holes at various locations.

AFRO-ASIAN HOUSING CONGRESS

THE second Afro-Asian Housing Congress, to be held at the Singapore Conference Hall, Shenton Way, Singapore, will be opened on October 7 by the Minister for Law and National Development, Mr. E. W. Barker.

Singapore is to be represented by an 11-member de- legation headed by Mr. Teh Cheang Wan, chief architect of the Housing and Development Board.

Working papers to be presented at the congress will cover such subjects as metropolitan planning development, public and private housing, urban renewal, sewerage and public utilities and rehabilitation and mobilisation in hous- ing. Representatives from about 30 countries are taking part in the congress.

ARMSTRONG REPRESENTATIVE

MR. R. LEONARD has been appointed Far East technical representative for Armstrong Cork (Australia) Pty. Ltd. Based in Hong Kong as assistant to Mr. H. Laubach, Armstrong's Far East sales manager, Mr. Leonard will spend much of his time visiting distributors and architects in Malaysia, Singapore, Philippines and Thailand,

CATALOGUES WANTED

R. Leonard

MR. KI SANG KIL. director, General Affairs Bureau, Korea, has announced that he would like to receive cata- logues and samples from manufacturers of construction materials and agents in S.E. Asia. The bureau is formulat- ing a 'Utilization plan of construction materials' in con- nection with the planning of a new Capitol of Korea. Mr. Ki's address is General Affairs Bureau, National As- sembly, Republic of Korea.

Far East Architect & Builder October, 1967