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