Prior to designing a school building, the design team needs
to understand the outcomes of the Planning Stage – the
needs assessment, feasibility study and draft implementation
plan. They need to meet with the school management
committee and potentially other community stakeholders.
They also need to visit the selected site to conduct detailed
investigations o f its characteristics. This pre-design
consultation phase, which for smaller projects may occur
as part of the Planning Stage, should address three major
design considerations:
• School site investigation. The design team needs to
confirm some of the assumptions made at Planning Stage
by visiting the selected site. They may conduct a local
site survey to verify hazards, the shape of the site and
soil characteristics. From this, they can layout classrooms
and other facilities to fit within the site, and they know how
big the foundation needs to be to support the building on
the specific soils found at the site. The design team also
needs basic information, such as the height of the water
table and vegetation on the site, to determine what type of
site preparation and drainage is needed.
In seismically active and landslide zones, the softness of
the soil defines how intensely a school building will shake
or whether the soil under the building will destabilise
the structure. Regional and local soil maps may provide
a general overview of site conditions, but often these
maps are insufficient for structural design. Geologists
or geotechnical engineers should investigate local site
conditions.
• Building performance objectives. Performance
objectives define how well the school building will perform
during hazard events. Buildings, at minimum, should
be designed to be ‘life safe’ for known hazard events.
For example, national design codes or other guidelines
may require all school buildings to withstand high
winds or earthquakes of a certain size or frequency. A
building designed to be ‘life safe’ in these events would
not collapse (partially or completely) or cause fatalities
during that event. However, the building may sustain
high damage and need extensive repairs or complete
replacement after the event.
• Community context. Design teams should also meet
with the school management committee to understand the
needs and aspirations identified by the committee during
the Planning Stage. The committee’s vision for the school
should shape what the design team prioritises. The design
team should understand the local materials, construction
practices and labour capacity. Local tradespeople
may not have the expertise to execute sophisticated
construction techniques – for example, dampers in a
frame or composite construction materials – no matter
how hazard-resistant and innovative they may be. Designs
that build on local practice and make only moderate
adaptations to local building styles and materials are more
effective because they ensure communities can retain
these good practices and apply them elsewhere.
Balancing cost and
performance objectives
in flood plains and storm
surge zones
Schools in flood plains and storm surge inundation
zones can be built so they remain structurally intact
even when inundated. However, inundation precludes
the use of the school as a shelter. Stakeholders may
decide to invest in a more costly, elevated school so
that it remains undamaged in a flood event. Built to a
higher performance objective, this school could serve
as a community shelter post-hazard.
Alternatively, stakeholders may decide to construct a
less costly school, with the knowledge that they will
need to clean mud and debris out of the school before
using it again. Staff and students can evacuate and
save educational supplies, but the building will not be
suitable for shelter or immediate occupancy.
Development actors and government agencies may
take a regional approach, ensuring communities can
all access a school designed to higher performance
standards in their region, even if the schools closest to
them are designed to lower standards.
SECTION III: DESIGN
Key activity 1: Pre-design
community consultation
The school management committee and wider community
stakeholders may decide a ‘life safety’ performance
objective is insufficient. Higher performance objectives,
such as ‘cyclone shelter’ or ‘immediate occupancy’ could
make more sense when the school building is intended
for shelter during or after a disaster. It is also important
for enabling students to resume education in the building
immediately after the disaster. Buildings adhering to these
higher standards have higher construction costs but
experience much less damage in disasters.
The community needs to understand the performance
objective options and weigh them against resources and
community needs. The implementing actors may also
require higher performance objectives based on regional
or emergency response planning.
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