Section through VIP (ventilated improved pit) latrine. The dark southfacing façade, with the solar flue, draws air through the cubicle and pit, preventing fly and smell problems.
Section AA of nursery and infant school courtyard
covering of foliage with wet play and external teaching
with granite block in mud mortar as the outer leaf and
The client’s brief to develop a model school was ambi-
areas beneath both solid and flexible coverings to ex-
traditional mud brick masonry for the inner leaf; this
tious, not only in terms of ‘hardware’ such as energy and
tend teaching space and reflect the extreme temperature
gives increased thermal performance and durability com-
site infrastructure, buildings, material resource use, but
conditions across the climatic cycle. Each classroom has
pared to the rendered mud brick walls commonly used.
also in ‘soft skills’ such as building up competency in
a quiet warm corner with a small stove on a stone floor.
The heavy mud roof is supported by a timber structure
the local project management team, establishing a cost
There are timber floors everywhere else, and white-paint-
independent of the walls to provide the earthquake
database and in optimising the use of local resources.
ed mud rendered walls are provided to maximise teach-
stability. The large spans needed in the classrooms, com-
All these initiatives aim to support the whole project as a
ing flexibility in clear uncluttered spaces. Each courtyard
bined with the open glazed south-facing façade and the
demonstration of a new approach to teaching in such a
has a pair of detached solar-assisted VIP (ventilated im-
high weight of the roof makeup, required large timber
unique rural community. Ultimately, this is far more than
proved pit) latrines arranged along an external walkway
cross sections and steel connections to ensure that they
a school in the conventional sense, it is more of a village,
crossing one open end of the courtyard.
resist seismic loads and to warrant life safety in the case
with everything designed to complement the major in-
of an earthquake. These were difficult to procure locally,
frastructure initiatives, water and energy management in
The key aspects governing the structural design were
so the structural framing plan and connection details for
the most positive way.
earthquake loading, durability and appropriateness. The
the future phases have been altered to reduce timber
kindergarten buildings have cavity walls on three sides
section sizes. P R I M A RY S C H O O L S
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