COVER STORY
Pupils in one the Grace Primary School classrooms.
There has been active interest in the school, because of the interest in the educational philosophy as well as the long waiting lists at the existing primary schools.
The school purchased one of the last plots of land zoned for commercial or community use in the area. The plot itself is roughly 2 400m 2 which is ideal for a smaller, family-scale atmosphere school with single grades and a maximum of 18 children in each class.
THE CHALLENGE OF GROWTH
With a new class added each year, Grace Primary quickly ran out of space at its rented location and was under pressure to build before the 2017 school year. The property purchase and transfer process was only finalised at the beginning of April which gave roughly seven months to have the construction complete prior to the builders holiday. The construction would also occur through the Cape Town rainy season which would invariably result in significant delays.
UFCC INNOVATION SAVES THE DAY
UFCC provided a building system called the UCO SolidWall Building System which is an Agrément SA Certified Innovative Building Technology. The system significantly reduced the construction time with practical completion achieved in November 2016.
UFCC procures fibre cement products from UAC Berhad a leading manufacturer of fibre cement building products, which built its reputation on supplying high quality products with excellent value. UAC obtained the stringent environmental product declaration by the Institute of
Construction Environment, Germany and was also awarded Singapore Green Label administered by the Singapore Environment Council and SIRIM Eco Label.
In the design stage of the premises, a lot of thought went into creating the right environment with a good learning atmosphere, from colour, lighting, allocation of space to specific activities( such as a reading mat), to maximising daylight without introducing heat gain. Architect, Gavin Graham from Oikos Consulting, was appointed to design the school and act as the principle agent.
Gavin ensured that the design supported a good learning atmosphere with key aspects such as a simple yet elegant design, which accommodated the diverse and growing requirements of a school, and could fit with a broader vision; the introduction of elements in the design and landscape to improve the visual aesthetic and mitigate noise aspects and distractions; creating a sense of space on a constrained site and ensuring students are provided with the average square meterage being roughly double that of the National Government minimum guidelines; the use of a wider than required covered timber walkway around an active internal landscape to create space for interaction and defensible space; reducing visual clutter and distraction in the class environment through careful planning of storage space; optimised lighting using high quality LED light fittings with layout determined by light modelling to ensure uniform distribution with wall washers installed to enhance the front areas; and careful orientation, with a‘ cool roof’ and good insulation to reduce the average temperatures in the classroom.
AFFORDABLE
SA HOUSING MARCH- APRIL 2017 15