Construction World December 2018

Specialist Contractors or Suppliers

CHERÉ BOTHA SCHOOL – BELLVILLE, CAPE TOWN

T he school was originally part of the Down’s Syndrome Association of the Western Cape, but now falls under the Western Cape Department of Education. Today the school accommodates learners with Down’s Syndrome, learners on the autism spectrum and learners with intellectual disabilities from the ages of 3-18. In 2009 they moved into old, unused wards of Stikland Hospital which gave easy access to children from previously disadvantaged communities. There was also enough space for expansion. They were operating out of three different locations with a central administrative office and kitchen which prepares therapeutic meals for their learners. Due to the huge demand in the community for children with the need for special education, the Western Cape Education Department granted their request for a larger building/premises. The new school’s beautiful architectural design was done by Wolff Architects. The school is divided into six sections all along a circular vehicular drop off road: an administration building, four classroom blocks for learners and divided into various age groups and including one classroom block with the assembly hall, a kitchen The Cheré Botha School was established by Mike and Gloria Botha in 1981 and named in memory of their daughter Cheré who was born on 17 September 1976 with Down’s Syndrome and sadly, died of leukemia on 27 June 1980.

and workshops. Each of the classroom blocks is designed around a shared space which is expressed through a timber A-frame, which they have conceptualised as the ‘super-form’. The A-frame ‘super-form’ is identical for every age group but the ground surface is occupied and programmed differently depending on its situation. These roofed, outdoor spaces form as a series of social spaces at a scale between the classroom and the school as a whole. It allows learners to play and learn outside even in adverse weather conditions. The roof design on the school started in 2015 July with several meetings between the architects Wolff and the company to come up with a design that could work structurally and have the result looking like what the architect and client wanted and to be within a budget. The challenges faced were with the spacing of the A-Frame trusses at 2 600 mm centres and the walkway beams having a cantilever of 3 000 mm. Through some detailed engineering, special bracket designs with fixings to the built structure Elegant Roofing was able to overcome this. Through engagement with the laminated beam manufacturer OT Joiners they were able to get specific sized and graded laminated beams for this custom project. 

PROJECT INFORMATION

• Company entering: Elegant Roofing • Client: Western Cape Department of Education • Contract value: R3,9-million • Start date: October 2016 • End date: December 2016 • Main Contractor: Boshard Construction • Architect: Wolff Architects • Consulting Engineer: Elegant Engineering

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