DETAILED SIZES
168
Figure 7.14: The sizes of the senior primary classrooms and adjacent courtyards (Source: Author).
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SENIOR PRIMARY CLASSROOM
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THE BROWNS SCHOOL
MAIN PLANDETAILED SIZES
169
Figure 7.15: The sizes of the hydrotherapy unit and hall with associated facilities (Source: Author).
NORTH
13500
ABLUTION FACILITIES
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HALL
9350
HYDROTHERAPY UNIT
10100
STAFF ABLUTIONS
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MAIN PLANDETAILED SIZES
170 BARRIER – FREE DESIGN:
In terms of barrier-free design, the Browns School has handrails running along all of the walls. These are painted in different colours and the doors to the classrooms are wider than normal doors, also painted in different colours. The use of coloured doors and handrails helps the children and teachers to find their classrooms easily because of the maze of corridors and classrooms (Plate 7.9 and Fig 7.11). Some of the toilets are specially fitted with equipment at the school but all of the sinks are conventional and are not lower than normal, nor do they have handrails attached at the front. The corridors have ramps leading into the courtyards and there are brick upstands at the bottom of all of the walls so that the children in wheelchairs do not damage the walls if they bang into them. Most of the site is quite flat and there is no need for many ramps. There is an extremely long ramp leading to the playing fields and tennis courts and it takes the children a long time to get down there. Since autistic children are very highly strung and thus need incredible special attention, classrooms were specially designed for them at the school and they have their own playground which is not accessible to all of the other children at the school. The use of different types of bricks also aids blind children to find their way easily around the school.
SENSORY STIMULATION:
There is a lot of use of colour and the textures of the bricks are welcoming to the touch (Plate 7.10). The playgrounds incorporate elements of water and growing plants which is interesting for the children. Positive attitudes of teachers and therapists are combined with a caring environment which seems to work well for the children. There appears to be no special design considerations, architecturally, which are meant to excite, stimulate and entice the children, yet the environment is conducive to learning. Classrooms are well – organised,
Plate 7.9: Coloured handrails used for aiding children (Source: Author).
171 have plenty of spaces for displaying children‟s work and most of them have a lot of natural sunlight. Some of them do get very hot in summer as cross ventilation does not occur due to the double loaded corridors.
BUILT FORM AND ARCHITECTURAL EXPRESSION:
The general form of the school is one which is not institutional or fortress – like. Instead, the buildings are simple in their form and are not designed with special features which are aimed at enticing the children‟s interest.
Some of the courtyards have been designed to be interesting, with layers of elements which provide for interactive spaces (Plate 7.11).
There is a defined entrance area to the school, which provides a transition space for the children and parents alike. The use of airbricks provided an interesting
element to the facades and they could have been incorporated better to allow for dramatic interplays with light and textures. Exposed brickwork and double pitched green roof sheeting were the main construction materials which formed the basis for the architectural expression. These forms are simple and economical, easy to maintain and mimic the
Plate 7.10: An elevation showing the use of different textures (Source: Author).
Plate 7.11: An image of an interesting courtyard at the school which provides layers of opportunities for the children
(Source: Author).
172 residential architecture of the surrounding suburbs. The overall built – form of the school is simple and functional, conforming to a gridiron pattern of planning (Fig 7.16).
CRITICAL REGIONALISM:
The site had been excavated deeply and flattened when the school was built and this is in no way responding to the original site. Since the school is in a residential area, it can be said that it does respond to its context. The school buildings are not over – scaled, look similar to the surrounding context (houses) in the sense that they are also constructed of brick and sheeted roofs and the environment is not sterile or daunting. It is uncertain whether the materials used were locally produced, as the school has been in use for a long period of time.
The school was built merely out of the need for one and therefore is not sensitively designed to incorporate aspects such as culture and local crafts.
DATA ANALYSIS AND INTERPRETATION:
The observation of this case study was mainly to understand aspects of barrier – free design for the disabled and how well certain architectural elements work as well as to gain an understanding of spatial accommodation and the associated sizes. In order to achieve this, various methods were used. The observation of the school has already been discussed.
Focused interviews were carried out on the principal and various educators and measurements of different spaces were also recorded. These will be detailed below.
Figure 7.16: A rough overall built form of the school, where one can see the courtyards which puncture the maze of walkways and classrooms (Source: Author).