HI~ TEX : is easily suitable for all types of relief decorations and gives an infinite variety of textures and relief effects in any color or colors desired. MELOGLAZE: "velvet finish" paint, gives a durable and washable finish on wood, metal or plaster. PARTHENON ALUMINUM PAINT: gives a high protective surface on all metal surfaces exposed to the weather.
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A.R. TOURIST BUREAU
Public Works of South Africa
ABSOLUTE MAGNETIC OBSERVATORY
MAGNETIC OBSERVATIONS
IN SOUTH AFRICA
Since the Magnetic Observatory at the University of Cape Town was formed temporarily, it was necessary to consider the construction of a new observatory. The site at Cape Town, which had necessarily to be selected near the Physics Department, is quite unsuitable for a permanent observatory on account of the strong magnetic disturbances created by electric railway traffic. The site at Hermanus was chosen after a magnetic survey of the locality was made and found to be satisfactory.
The country is sufficiently removed from electric railways to be free from the magnetic disturbances caused by them. The alternating current supply of the city will not cause any inconvenience in this respect, but will greatly assist in the ordinary work of the observatory. In highly industrialized countries, it has been found necessary to remove magnetic observatories in isolated localities, erect electrical plants for the routine work of observatories and build housing.
Although the nature of the work requires a member of staff to be on duty every day, it is not currently being considered to build a dwelling at the observatory, but to provide a garage to accommodate motorized transport to and from to Hermanus. The location of the Absolute Observatory and the Variometer House was decided in relation to the magnetic meridian, and to provide uninterrupted views both for astronomical observations and for marking beacons. As the plans show, the buildings are all very small and had to be suitable for the job in terms of construction and materials.
In the Absolute Magnetic Observatory and Ariometer V of the house, iron was to be strictly excluded from every part of the construction and equipment. In the office block, the masonry and roof are non-magnetic, but the iron exclusion is not required to be as rigid as in the other two buildings. All buildings have been fitted with wooden roofs, shingles are boarded and fastened with copper nails.
THE most interesting of the buildings from the point of view of construction and materials is the Variometer House.
U''cAVITY
Buildings: The new JHE Magnetic Observatory comprises four separate buildings, namely the Absolute Magnetic Observatory, the Variometer House, the Office and Toilet Block, the Utility Buildings and the Garage Block. The specifications include testing of all materials that make up the wall to ensure that all magnetic materials are excluded.
VARIOMETER
Each entrance has a separate door, which ensures that the instruments are protected from dust and drafts when an observer comes in to change the records or make some adjustment to the instruments. There are two rooms, separated by a wooden partition covered with insulite, for the two different types of recording apparatus. The marble slabs must be slotted and stepped to fit the instruments that will be installed.
All internal doors must be flush, specially designed for thermal insulation. Observatory: An absolute magnetic observatory is a block of much simpler construction made of non-magnetic material. The windows, which will be wooden sliding sashes, will be equipped with sliding shutters due to the windy nature of the region.
The floor shall consist of 7.5 cm thick concrete, covered with wooden blocks, and the walls shall consist of cavity construction. A double-glazed light has been specially designed in the roof for the overhead lighting required for certain instruments. Office Block The JHIS block contains two large offices, a typist's room, an archive room, outbuildings and a large laboratory connected by a maze to special photographic and enlargement rooms with light-tight shutters on the windows.
The floors are generally granolithic, with the exception of the offices and the lobby, where wooden blocks are placed; and all the windows, which are of the sliding type, are equipped with sliding shutters. The Building Block consists of garages and residents' quarters, and is set a little apart from the other blocks. The fence surrounding the site should be non-magnetic, built with wooden posts and rails and with teak gates.
The Magnetic Observatory at Hermanus was designed by the Department of Public Works, who maintained close contact with Dr.
FILTRATION PLANT EXTENSIONS
VEREEN IG I NG
Pietermaritzburg 5 New
In August 1934, the results of the competition for new government offices and a magistrate in Pietermaritzburg were announced. The entrances and halls are sensibly arranged for the comfort of the public, lawyers and staff, and there is clear and comfortable access to all parts of the building. In general, the layout of the offices is good, but there are many details in the arrangement that require more attention in this scheme than in all schemes.
The architectural treatment is simple and good, and the proposals for construction and material are generally suitable. Having won this important competition, the architects, having settled on the master plan of the scheme, set about working out the many details still to be decided and drawing up working drawings and specifications. On July 13, 1936, building operations began, and by the end of 1938, the building was completed and occupied by various government departments.
The building has its two main frontages on Commercial Street and Pietermaritz Street. It is of colorful faced brick on a stone base, with stone dressings and stone surrounds to the main entrances and is relieved at intervals by symbolic carved stone panels. The ground floor is occupied by the Criminal Courts, various Court and Government offices, including the offices of the Department of Home Affairs and the Department of Revenue, as well as a large public concourse, giving access to the public space of the Criminal Courts.
Direct access from this passage to the prisoners' docks is given by means of a cellar passage. The Department of Mines, the local forestry and dairy divisions of the Department of Agriculture and Forestry, and the Department of Justice are all housed on this floor. In addition to the usual toilet accommodation, a comfortable ladies' rest room and toilet is provided on this floor.
This new, spacious and pleasant building is not only an asset to the city, but also a tribute to the architects responsible for its design and the builders entrusted with its construction.
The SCHOOL BUILDING PROBLEM
Simple Direct Planning
An occasional accent of bright orange on small but important elements of the design is included. The Ferguson Colored School was designed in the office of the Provincial Architect, and built by Messrs. There are some very excellent illustrations and chapters, but the volume in general is disappointing, - some of the work might even be put down as amateurish.
By issuing this volume the American Technical Association has shown how attentive and wide awake it is to the needs of the technical man and the practical tradesman who is seeking progress. I am sure that the author will delight every student with his direct approach to each problem, clear illustrations and short but practical solutions offered. An in-depth study immediately reveals the fact that the volume offers practically a complete explanation of the process to be adopted to produce an accurate "price" for any particular trade.
The advanced student or experienced appraiser should, however, be left with the feeling that a great deal of elementary construction instruction in all building trades must be thoroughly mastered long before the process of appraising can be successfully attempted. HERE are many advantages that can be obtained from the use of artificial building materials, among which are ease, ease of construction with . purpose-built, fire-resistant units in certain cases, in addition to the intrinsic advantages of the particular material. Liquid plaster is poured into plank-shaped molds to produce manu'"'.
However, it should first be mentioned that in thermal insulation tests carried out by the Physics Department of the University of the Witwatersrand, the thermal conductivity of "Selinite" gypsum board was set ... set at · 72 to · 77 B.T.U. per square foot per hour per inch of thickness, with an average value of ·73, over a temperature range of 100 to 200 degrees F. It is fireproof and resists an oxy-acetylene flame at 4400 degrees C. Gypsum is a soft mineral, which is converted into plaster of Paris by calcination, a process which removes the crystallization of some of the water. It must be lightweight because, at best, fire-resistant material is a dead load and plays no role in supporting the building structure. An example of the special use of this plasterboard can be found in the new central block of the Johannesburg General Hospital, where it was used as a material for the cladding of the ceilings of the pavilions, it being particularly desired that the ceiling joints should be invisible.
T HI:<, the following are details of some of the contracts awarded by Government Departments and Provincial Administrations.
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