September_1966 — Page 44

East end of house with concrete screen wall on left

it a house with one floor at least of a fair-sized area. By building a struc- tural wall to support the upper floor half-way up the slope, and cantilever- ing the floor out from this, he consi- derably reduced the amount and height of the structure supporting it.

A more obvious alternative would have been a series of columns and beams supporting the building above the slope, and another answer would have been costly and difficult site for- mation to provide a flat site on which to build in the normal way.

Screen Wall

A further reason for the design using the continuous wall which sup- ports the upper floor is that it pro- vides a screen for the house and part of its grounds. This wall reaches from the ground to the underside of the first floor, enclosing both the base- ment level and the ground floor be- hind it. As well as running the length of the south side of the dwelling over 80 ft. it projects beyond it at either end, and these free-standing sections serve purely as screen walls. They are in fact perforated by hori- zontal slits which emphasize their function as screens.

The site is in a residential district on a peninsular sticking out from the south side of Hong Kong Island, and has good views of the coastline and the sea

to the southwest. On the north side, at the top end of the plot. the ground rises sharply and there are some previously constructed buildings immediately overlooking the site.

Ground floor plan

40

SWIMMING POOL

* 4 Banglore # 4 Bang

BL

PORCH:

LIVING

HALL

RAVINT

NO-

DINING

MAIN GATE

Far East Architect & Builder September, 1956