African project New Arts Campus , Afrikaans Hoër Seunskool
a dialogue between art and architecture
In 2014 the illustrious Afrikaans Hoër Seunskool commissioned a new music centre to be designed by Mathews and Associates Architects . Currently , the school hosts one of the largest music departments in the country with 240 high school learners who are taught musical theory and may choose to play an instrument of their choice . Furthermore , the orchestra , choir , bands and ensembles , allow learners to make music collectively . The new centre brings all this together and even contributes to this musical and artistic education in a dedicated , vibrant artistic precinct which includes a main hall for orchestral and choir practice ( including a recording studio ), four acoustically sound classrooms , twenty individual practice rooms and offices and admin facilities for staff .
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he complex is situated at the back of the school on a small , ‘ leftover ’ triangular portion of land between the existing school hall and the Gautrain rail tracks which run along the school ’ s south eastern boundary . It was the challenges of this site which led to the intricately connected design , with urban corridors and courtyards creating intimate public spaces and ‘ outdoor rooms ’ where students gather between classes . Special care was also taken to design around existing trees to create an instantly established feel to the new addition to this historic school .
The brief was very simple and straight forward : Design a music centre consisting of a main hall for orchestra and choir , class rooms and twenty practice rooms that had to be linked to the Visual arts department . “ This new visual and performing Arts precinct had to have its own distinct sense of place to foster creativity ,” points out Pieter J Mathews of Mathews & Associates Architects . “ As it is a public school with the project funded by the parents , it had to be low on cost but high on innovation .”
In respect to the existing Edwardian buildings , the new centre is built using the school ’ s traditional materials of red facebrick and corrugated roof sheeting . The various buildings of the centre are connected with an off shutter concrete peristyle , which extends across the front façade of the complex , while the main façade is clad in red corrugated roof sheeting . This use of traditional materials seamlessly blends the graphically strong
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