The Building & Construction Department of the City University (BC) is expanding its research programme in a number of areas. Since the department deals with matters across the industry, many of these areas are concerned with such matters as construction management, production management, quantity surveying, and building surveying. However, for the purposes of this article only research into matters that affect structural engineering are dealt with. Professor A.P. Jeary
The control of existing buildings in the private sector in Hong Kong in relation to dilapidation and defects is undertaken by the Dangerous Buildings Section of the Buildings Department. The control takes the form of a planned surveillance. Y.S. Lee
A settlement at Kowloon City has existed since the Sung Dynasty when it was used as a military base to manage a salt trade. In 1688 the City became fortified when a signal station was established. About 1810, a small fort was built at the City; its strategic, administrative and economic position remained relatively insignificant until the commencement of British administration of Hong Kong Island in 1841. Since then, the Chinese increased their presence at the City and by 1847 a perimeter wall had been built, and the ‘Kowloon Walled City’ came into being. J.W. Fearns
Born in Hong Kong, Mr Ng Sai-ho spent his childhood years in turbulent times. Hong Kong experienced disastrous fires in squatter areas in the early 1950s and, at the same time, found itself with a rapidly increasing population and major resettlement problems. Nevertheless, the territory was also experiencing increasing affluence and against this background, Mr Ng‘s early years were formed.
In the last Hong Kong issue of The Structural Engineer (June, 1993) ‘hand-dug’ caissons - a type of foundation commonly used in Hong Kong - were introduced. However, this type of construction method requires persons to work inside a constrained environment underground which imposes a considerable hazard on them. Government is therefore considering banning hand-dug caissons in Hong Kong. Ignatius Y.S. Lau
For some 18 years, China has actively implemented ‘open door’ policies and conducted a determined economic reform in its socialist modernisation with Chinese characteristics. As a result, the whole country, particularly the coastal provinces and larger cities, has attracted tremendous investments from Hong Kong, Taiwan and many foreign countries in trade, industry, infrastructure, and property development. In recent years, foreign capital has been largely utilised in the construction of commercial and office buildings as well as in large-scale urban renewal programmes. H.K. Cheng
The idea of a Buddha statue on Lantau Island, conceived by the head monk in the monastery to be the tallest outdoor Buddha statue in the world, was first proposed in 1974, but in 1980, the original designer dropped out. In 1983 the project was finally started, and a meticulous series of models and development trials took place until the final statue was completed and opened to the public in December 1993. Peter P.K. Ng
Lack of international-standard sports facilities has been a long-term problem for Hong Kong: nearly 6M people in about 1000km2 inevitably leads to other priorities in land allocation. Nevertheless, this deficiency has long been a cause for concern, not only to professional and amateur sportsmen and women, but also the masses of children who spend most of their days in multistorey schools. The solution, as is often the case in Hong Kong, came from the Royal Hong Kong Jockey Club, which operates the only legal betting franchise in the Territory. A staggering HK$lbn is now wagered at nearly all the 40 race meetings held annually at the Club’s two racecourses and after taxes and expenses the Jockey Club is able to donate considerable funds for a wide variety of public projects. P.G. Ayres, R.N. Cole and R. Forster
Many structural engineering graduates in Hong Kong have experience of design and construction of state-of-the-art high-rise buildings. This technical and commercial experience, together with that gained from complying with building legislation, provides a sound foundation for the development of project management skills. J.K.W. Chan and D.A. Morris