ARCHITECTS
AfriSam Innovation Award for Sustainable Construction
GREEN SCHOOL SOUTH AFRICA G reen School South Africa is the first building in Africa which complies with the most stringent green building certification, the Living Building Challenge (LBC), which is organised around the seven performance petals of the LBC. The goal being to create a Living Building/Campus that incorporate regenerative design solutions that improve the local environment rather than simply reducing harm.
Building, Heart of the School, Recycling Centre and Composting Station. Upon arriving at the school, a landscaped gabion wall leads the visitor to the Administration Building that sits on the main axial circulation spine of the campus, linking the more public buildings together. These buildings include the Sangkep, tree-lined Market Area, Deli, Co-Working Space and Heart of the School. The Heart of the School is the centre of the precinct were all the paths converge. The building is defined by three boulder‐like shapes defining the path leading from the arrival plaza. The main circulation spine branches off into carefully considered meandering routes, to create moments of excitement, wonder and discovery. These secondary routes lead to the Primary School and Kindergarten where both spill out in landscaped courtyards. The Kindergarten Cluster is sheltered and hidden by landscaped berms, and the walkway covered with a hand-woven sapling growing tunnel. Visual connectedness of the buildings is not the only aspect that link the architecture with nature.. Phase 02 is set to start in 2023, which will include a Middle School and High School.
This means they must produce more energy than they use; use less water than the site naturally receives; increase rather than reduce the biodiversity and beauty on site; and be healthy – providing plenty of natural light, fresh air, food, a close connection to nature and a sense of community. Green School South Africa, is an eight-hectare sustainable schooling campus located in the low-lying Paarl Valley in the Western Cape, spatially defined by the Paarl Berg to the north, Drakenstein Mountains to the east and south, and Simons Berg towards the southwest. The spatial arrangement at a macro level is what inspired the space making, but also down to the individual buildings and spaces between them. Reoccurrence of multiples at incremental scales is an idea that defines the behavior of most natural systems. The architecture of the individual buildings is defined by organic tectonic shapes originating from the mountains that contain the valley but also more directly from the Paarl Berg Boulders. These solid shapes are arranged to accommodate the programmatic need of each of the individual buildings. The first phase of the campus was completed in February 2021. Which constitutes of various clusters of buildings nestled in amidst orchards, vegetable gardens, walkways, landscaped terraces and spill out spaces. These buildings include 16 classroom facilities for children ranging from kindergarten to Gr 8, the Sangkep (Balinese term for a multipurpose space), an Administration
PROJECT INFORMATION
• Company entering: GASS Architecture Studios • Client: First Transaction Capital • Start date: February 2020 • End date: February 2021 • Main Constractor: Energy Master Builders • Architect: GASS Architecture Studios • Consulting Engineer: Sutherland Engineers
78 21 st Best Project Awards 2022
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