ROOFING & CLADDING
The client brief and working within design constraints
The education department required a solution for the old school buildings, as they were originally built with shutter-ply walls, steel windows, wooden trusses, and asbestos roofing.
The legacy stock was end-of-life and unsafe. However, the brief required dematerialisation – the reuse of existing foundations where possible, and a quick turnaround. This meant aiming for the rapid delivery of a project that would return learners to their school cost-effectively.
The design response
For the designers, the Light Steel Frame( LSF) solution was the perfect fit. The project utilised approximately 45 tonnes of LSF for the walls and roof to achieve fast, precise construction and a high strength-toweight ratio.
“ The innovative use of LSF enabled foundation reuse and delivered a durable, high-quality, long-term solution, earning it this dual recognition.” – judges citation, Steel Awards 2025.
According to project architect François Nortje of Osmonde-Lange Architects & Planners( www. osmondlange. co. za), the new top structures for the classrooms were replicated from the original( legacy) concept, but with enlarged windows to the north to allow ample natural light and roof overhangs over the stoep to the north to help shield against heat load.
“ A new administration building and ablutions were added due to changing learner demand of the school over the preceding few years. The school was commonly known and referred to in the area as the‘ green’ school, and this led to a colour palette of green for the buildings.
“ This palette, with a vibrant yellow portal at the front entrance, signals the central circulation access spine of the school and welcomes all the children. The administration building serves as a portal of access for general control of students and is bordered on one side by administration functions and the more public / staff communal spaces on the other.
“ As this school does not have a hall, the staff room is used for bigger group activities and the entrance foyer of the admin building also serves as a lobby to the staff room for preentrance gatherings.”
Light steel framing onto existing slabs
According to Mitchell Walker, director of Futurecon, which was the LSF contractor and also handled the cladding / roofing on the project:“ Before the legacy structure was dismantled, a 3D scan was done of the entire existing school, allowing the team to obtain the exact dimensions of the as-built school. We then designed specifically to that size, which greatly helped with speed of construction on-site.
“ The existing foundations supported an early generation timber structure, so instead of building with a conventional brick wall system, we were able to reuse the existing foundation to support a LSF structure. This provided the team with a massive advantage, saving time and money for the Education Department.
“ Each of these slab was 100 metres long. We undertook CAD and frameCAD roll-forming, then designed and manufactured sequenced prefabricated panels in the factory. Custom epoxy / threaded rod anchoring was undertaken to match existing slab dimensions, requiring specialist teams for each stage of the build. But this also meant that teams could move from one stage of the process on one building, hand over to the team doing the next phase, before moving onto the next classroom block, sequentially.”
Roofing and thermal efficiency
The existing wide walkways were covered to ensure safe and dry passage for children and teachers to all areas in the school and allow for much-needed shade in the harsh summers.
www. tobuild. co. za | winter 2026 83