Overview of a
community-based
approach
Safer schools:
Retrofitting projects
Schools in hazard-prone places should be safe regardless
of who funds, builds or maintains them. Achieving safety
is straightforward when schools are designed according
to strong building codes and constructed by well-trained
professionals under robust systems.
A community-based approach is equally applicable to
retrofitting projects, which aim to strengthen existing
unsafe school buildings. Retrofitting projects are
crucial where school buildings were built using poor
safety standards or were not well maintained. In this
document, safer school construction refers to both
new and retrofit construction projects.
For many school projects, however, achieving safety is not
straightforward.
Existing school buildings may be vulnerable to
hazards because the building was:
In many contexts, building codes may lag behind current
best-practice models. The codes may not even apply to
common construction practices or may not exist at all. Those
who work on school construction projects may lack proper
training or be unfamiliar with the life-saving techniques for
making schools safer in hazardous regions. Construction
oversight may be perfunctory or non-existent.
• Designed and constructed with no consideration of
building codes.
Where the location and quality of school buildings routinely
puts students and staff at risk, building a new school
or retrofitting an existing school should be more than a
construction project – it should become an important
community-wide learning process. Results should not only
include a safer school but build a more resilient community
with the knowledge and skills to reduce the risks from
hazards they will face in the future.
New construction
Retrofit construction
Strategic planning
and mobilisation
Strategic planning
and mobilisation
Site selection
Survey and prioritise
existing schools
Design
Evaluate existing
structure and design
retrofit
New construction
Retrofit construction
Operation and
maintenance
Operation and
maintenance
SECTION II: OVERVIEW
SECTION II: OVERVIEW
• Designed according to an earlier code, which has
since been upgraded.
• Designed to meet modern codes, but deficiencies
exist in the construction.
• Not originally designed as a school.
• Designed and constructed well, but was modified
inappropriately.
Fundamentally, the decision to build new schools
or retrofit existing schools stems from a combined
engineering and economic analysis. Assuming the
number students has remained constant, the core
question is whether the cost of applying the necessary
retrofits will be less costly than constructing a new
school. If the analysis reveals the new construction
is cheaper, teams often choose to dismantle the old
school and rebuild.
Most key principles of community-based school
construction projects apply to retrofitting projects,
but the stages are slightly different. Site selection
is replaced with a survey and prioritisation process
(See the the case study in Section III: Planning).
When creating a retrofit design, the design team
must first understand the building’s weaknesses.
The team should collect and analyse building data
from architectural and structural drawings, design
calculations, material properties, details of the
foundation and geo-technical reports. The design
team can then compare this building information
with expected hazards and calculate what retrofit
interventions are necessary to ensure safety.
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