A Fresh Start For School Spaces In South Africa

My story refers specifically to my part in the design of new schools in South Africa, after Nelson Mandela was freed; the time of African Renaissance.

I am older now, and still idealistic. I know that the lessons learned from those experiences can help in solving some of the problems we face today, especially in the design of creative spaces for knowledge workers.

A FRESH START FOR SCHOOL SPACES IN SOUTH AFRICA -- LESSONS FOR OFFICE SPACES IN THE 21ST CENTURY?

In the early 1990’s, after the ANC were voted in as the new Government of South Africa, changes started to happen to the delivery of schools in parts of the country.

Up until that time, low-cost schools for the black population were provided from standard designs and communities were neither consulted on the design nor siting of buildings. Typical layouts comprised standard classroom blocks (which looked like they were designed in the 40’s), ablution blocks with toilets and wash basins and an administration building for the staff; all placed in an open grid with covered walkways (sometimes) between the separate buildings. There was seldom enough money for fencing or playing fields and control of pupils and others on the site was impossible. As a consequence, truancy and violence were commonplace together with systematic vandalism of the school property. Typically a school constructed the previous year looked like it had been there for 20 years – broken windows, chipped plaster and unusable sanitary fittings. There was no money for maintenance, so broken windows, furniture and fittings were not repaired or replaced. There was no local community pride – they took their frustrations out on the school buildings.

As an architect, I was privileged to be commissioned by Local Government to prepare new designs for schools in the KwaZulu Natal Province and to be one of the first to consult with the local community on their needs! The sites were fixed, having been allocated in the town-planning scheme many years before, but for the first time the local community was consulted on their own requirements. They had lots to say about what they wanted but were unable to articulate their needs clearly. This was obviously something with which they had no direct experience. The task was for architects, such as myself, to translate these needs into quality spaces for learning.

At that time in South Africa there were two major factors that would influence the design of the schools in the rural areas; each teacher could have up to 60 pupils in one class and there was endemic violence and crime, verging on localised civil war. The design of the school should enable the teachers to control their 60 pupils within the classroom and enable the headmaster to control the pupils and outsiders within the school environs. This could not be solved using standard school designs. The only logical approach was to go back to first principles.

The first schools in Africa were outdoor spaces centred around a shade tree: the teacher able to gather his pupils together close to him in the shade of a virtual classroom. The shade line on the cool ground marked the boundary of the classroom – no walls and windows necessary. Very many children in Africa and in other Third World countries still obtain their schooling in this way.

Our new school design was, thus, centred around the symbolic tree, donated to the school at the end of the construction project, to grow tall and shady as the school itself developed. The school rooms, constructed of low maintenance facebrick walls and tiled roof, formed a large open courtyard, 30 metres on a side, with the tree at its centre. The entire school was made up of two of these courtyards (a lower and upper school), with a tree at the centre of each, with the administration and main entrance where the two meet as a focus, as in a figure of eight. Entrances to all the rooms opened into the courtyards and brick pathways set in lawns linked open corridors around the entire perimeter in irregular radiating walkways centred on the tree.

The courtyard provides a strong sense of space and identity for all within and provides a safe refuge in a violent land. During construction, hundreds of local villagers would shelter in the partially built school buildings during the night and build fires and cook in the courtyards, safe from marauding street gangs on the outside.

The design of the classroom, although conventionally rectangular in shape, allowed the teacher more control. Conventional classroom design places the teacher and blackboard on the short side of the rectangle where he has difficulty controlling pupils at the back of the room, so we turned the classrooms through 90 degrees and placed the teacher on the long side. All pupils are closer to the teacher and easier to control. This layout has the additional advantage of providing more wall space (uninterrupted by windows) for blackboards and pinning boards.

The design solution presented above is a far cry from the issues with which we are faced in the modern business environment but the lessons, I have found, are surprisingly relevant. I learned a great deal whilst designing and building those schools, lessons that I feel we can use today when designing high quality “people spaces”. I visited the schools a couple of years after they were handed over to a proud community and found pupils tending vegetable and flower gardens amongst the lawns and pathways. The buildings were immaculate: clean and neat and lovingly cared for –a refreshing change from the vandalised schools of the past. The school belonged to the community for the first time in decades.

Firstly, I believe that going back to first principles is essential when looking for new solutions. The way modern society interacts socially and commercially has changed dramatically over the last 30 years but we still live in spaces based on designs far older than that. We can learn by questioning the fundamental requirements of each space. This is becoming even more relevant today as technology forces business to reinvent the way we work. Today’s office design is as old fashioned as typewriters.

Secondly, it is vital to involve the community who will use the space. Allowing people to interact and customise parts of their environment will reinforce their willingness to be there! The way businesses work internally and externally is far more complex than it used to be but we insist on using a “one-size-fits-all” approach to office design.

And thirdly, applying some lateral thought to aspects of space design could enhance the quality of the spaces, which many of us take for granted. If we were made more aware of the fact that we are in unique spaces, by the use of colour, texture and good design, our quality of life would be greatly enhanced.

I feel that it is about time that we initiate changes in the way we design and organise office space in business to provide relevant and creative spaces for today’s knowledge workers.

I learned lessons from Africa.