LAND AND HOUSING
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where composite buildings of between fifteen and twenty storeys high are now quite common.
Domestic Buildings. Buildings of all types for residential use continue to hold the dominant position in new development and redevelopment. Considerable progress has been made by the various bodies charged with the task of providing domestic accommodation for the white-collar and artisan classes in the lower income bracket. Many of these schemes were completed during the year and a number of new projects are well in hand. In addition, many of the local Government officers' housing schemes have been completed and occupied, and a number are now in course of construction. However, the greatest contribution to domestic building in general, if Resettlement projects are excluded, has been made by private developers and several large estates are almost ready for occupation. In a number of cases, whole blocks of land bounded by four streets have been developed as one unit. Corner sites tend to be redeveloped more rapidly than sites having a single frontage only.
Non-domestic Buildings. A wide variety of buildings connected with all spheres of life and activity in the Colony were also erected during the year, the more important being 91 factories and work- shops, 39 schools, 39 godowns and stores, 13 offices, 8 churches, 3 hospitals and 10 petrol filling stations.
On the commercial side a number of new office blocks were completed and occupied, while several others are in various stages of construction. The rate of construction of schools and factory and workshop buildings accelerated this year and the erection of new factory buildings on the reclamation at Kwun Tong is gather- ing momentum.
One interesting feature has been the tendency during the year to provide large numbers of individual shops with arcades at ground, first and second floor levels in large redevelopment projects; an- other feature which is developing is the design of composite build- ings suitable for multi-purpose use.
Plans for 1,342 new buildings were submitted to the Building Authority for approval during 1958 and of these 1,063 were for European-type houses, flats, apartment blocks, housing schemes, Chinese-type tenements and low-cost one-room flats. The
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