The First Six Years 1963-69

Colleges. However, there was little room for fu tu re expansion and i t was separated from Chung Ch i College by five miles. These two disadvantages were considered ma jor obstacles to the formation o f a closely integrated and viable Un iversity programme. A 273-acre tra c t contiguous to the 57-acre campus o f Chung Ch i College was being used by Government to obtain f ill fo r the gigantic Plover Cove Dam Project. A pp lica tion was made to Government fo r th is alternate site and after long negotiation, ap p rova l was received. Thus, The Chinese Un ive rs ity became a physical rea lity. The Fu lton Commission described the Chung Ch i College campus as "impressive". I t wou ld no t be an exaggeration to term the present Un ive rs ity site as "m agn ificen t". I t consists o f a series o f p lateaux va ry ing in elevation from 14 feet to 450 feet overlooking the beau tifu l To lo Ha rbour. When construction and landscaping are completed, i t w ill indeed constitute one o f the most eye-catching and impressive campuses in this pa rt o f the wo rld . Once the site was obtained, the V ice-Chancellor inv ited M r, I .M . P e i , an in te rna tiona lly famed architect, to come to Hong Kong in November 1966 to advise h im on the design and layou t o f the campus. Among M r . PEI's artistic creations, to name a few, are the new East Bu ild ing o f the Na tiona l Ga llery o f A r t, Washington, D .G .; the Na tiona l Center fo r Atmospheric Research in Co lorado ; the Na tiona l A irlines Te rm ina l at the John F. Kennedy In te r nationa l A irp o rt in New Y o rk C ity ; the East-West Center o f the Un ive rs ity o f H aw a ii; the Tungha i Un ive rs ity Chapel in Ta iwan ; the Un ive rs ity Plaza at New Y o rk Un ive rs ity and the John F itz gerald Kennedy L ib ra ry in Cambridge, Massachusetts. He was recently commissioned as. architect fo r several ma jor urban re development plans in the U n ite d States, especially in the downtown areas at Boston, Los Angeles, Oklahoma C ity , Cleveland and Philadelphia. D u ring his visit, he inspected the site and worked closely w ith the Un ive rs ity A rch itec t and the Cha irman o f the Un iversity's Campus P lanning and Bu ild ing Committee. The V ice- Chancellor took fu ll advantage o f M r . P e i ' s valuable advice in fo rm u la ting the Master Development Plan fo r the campus. Planning the Un ive rs ity campus presented a unique challenge and represented a monumental task. I t had to take in to consider ation the fo llow ing factors: ( 1) the existing Chung Ch i campus; (2) the urban development p lan o f Hong K o ng ; (3) the bu ild ing o f an in d iv idua l campus for each Foundation College; and (4) the in teg ra tion o f the Foundation Colleges in to an organic whole in accordance w ith the overall development p lan for the University. The task o f designing the campus and its ma jor bu ild ing pro jects was given to the Un ive rs ity A rch itec t and the Campus Plan n ing and Bu ild ing Comm ittee o f the Council. A n ad hoc comm itt ee 15