FEATURE
As time passed , the team became increasingly concerned about the construction timeline , as well as the probable impact of global supply chain constraints on availability and price escalations of all critical materials .
To address these risks , the professional team redesigned many of the buildings to enable reduced construction times ( for instance , all classrooms were planned as rammed earth buildings , but in lockdown this was changed to locally manufactured bricks ) and tendered and finalised the procurement of all critical materials such as glass , steel , aluminium and the security system .
“ We even managed to manufacture the custom-made roof trusses for all of the classrooms during lockdown Level 4 , adopting a modular concept to increase on-site efficiency ,” adds Berry .
Critical decisions also had to be taken on how the school could be operational while still finishing some buildings after it had opened .
The gross construction area of 2 973m2 consists of 16 classrooms split between kindergarten and primary school .
Apart from the buildings , extensive landscaping had to be completed , together with a sports field , road network and security fence .
WHAT IS GREEN SCHOOL SOUTH AFRICA , AND HOW IS IT ‘ GREEN ’?
Green School South Africa ’ s mission is to educate ‘ sustainably ’, so it has an extremely strong focus on sustainability in every component of the school . This includes design , construction , and operation , but also extends to the curriculum and the way in which this is taught .
The school opened with an initial intake of 120 learners from kindergarten to Grade 8 and will add a grade per year , so it will cater for kindergarten to Grade 12 by 2025 .
The gross construction area of 2 973m 2 consists of 16 classrooms split between kindergarten and primary school , the Sangkep Hall ( Balinese for ‘ gathering place ’) and the Heart of School area , complete with dining hall , kitchen , servery , library , art and music studios and ablution facilities . Apart from the buildings , extensive landscaping had to be completed , together with a sports field , road network and security fence . From a design and construction perspective , the Living Building Challenge ( LBC ) was proposed by Terramanzi , the sustainability consultant .
Herman Berry ( PrQS )
The LBC is an incredibly rigorous standard that requires a project to be regenerative and not just
The school is regenerative in terms of energy , producing 105 % of its own electricity consumption .
have a zero-carbon footprint . The fact that the site is situated outside the urban edge and far from public infrastructure services meant it had to generate its own electricity , purify its own water , and treat its own wastewater .
Some sustainability highlights of the school are :
• It is regenerative in terms of energy , producing 105 % of its own electricity consumption , thus giving back to the grid and not taking from it .
• It is regenerative in terms water , using less water than what the site naturally gets per year from rainfall – hence it gives back more to the river and groundwater aquifers than it takes from it .
• It is a zero waste-to-landfill site , also taking in waste from neighbours and the community so as to have a net positive impact on waste to landfill .
The construction process had to ensure that no materials on-site included any red list elements , and also that the manufacturing process of all materials did not use any of these items . Endemic flora was re-established in the gardens , thereby contributing positively to the biodiversity of the entire area . It incorporated vegetable gardens , fruit forests , medicinal gardens and herbal corridors in the campus landscape .
The school day includes growing , caring for and harvesting – all with the aim of re-establishing people ’ s connection to the land and food .
20 DECEMBER 2021 / JANUARY 2022 // www . timberiq . co . za