ColorplusⓇ roof adds to overall aesthetic beauty and functionality at Lapalala School
According to Alexia Kolatsis, an associate and professional architect at Local Studio Architects, the design brief received from the client called for new infrastructure for an established environmental education program which was moved from a site within the Lapalala Wilderness reserve to new neighbouring property, situated alongside the Palala river in the Waterberg, Limpopo.
“The building program included teaching and administration buildings, short-term residential accommodation for students and long-term residential accommodation for teachers and staff.
“Teaching and administration buildings are arranged around courtyard spaces that act as an extension of the education spaces. These breakout spaces provide comfortable and shaded outdoor teaching environments with framed views of the surrounding bushveld” she says.
On such a site, despite the logistical challenges caused by tricky road transport access, structural steel as well as a substantial amount of roofing steel was specified. Novotexi440, a superior performance roofing profile by Macsteel was roll-formed from Safal Steel’s ColorplusⓇ AZ150 in colour Raincloud and fixed to the roof during the two phases of construction.
The choice of ColorplusⓇ is a natural for projects of this nature, due to the long life in service offered by this pre-painted roofing product (more than four times that of pre-painted galvanised steel) and the solar reflectance offered by the paint system, which is designed not to fade over the years and assists with keeping heat out of the buildings below.
Sarel Cronje, the co-owner of Steel Roofing, roofing specialist contractors based in Pretoria, confirms that the Lapalala Wilderness School project presented some challenges to the implementation team.
“Lapalala is located on the Palala River in a densely bushed ravine or steep valley and does not offer easy road access to the site. This meant that the Novotexi440 mill could not be brought to site and the individual sheets had to be role-formed offsite in Gauteng and trucked-in as precut lengths of 5-6m along a winding bumpy track to the site at Lapalala.
“We hence completed the project in two phases using Macsteel’s Novotexi 440 profile sheeting in Colorplus® 0.53mm AZ150 G550 in colour Raincloud. The result was beautiful and added an interesting contrast with the rammed earth walling used on the project.”
Project highlights are:
- Soil from foundation excavations used to create rammed earth walls – these are aesthetically pleasing and at the same time provide natural insulation and effective noise reduction.
- Light and airy designed physical classrooms, library, dining hall. Learners’ dormitories are clean with uncluttered décor in white, natural wood and earth tones.
- A number of efficient and renewable systems were installed to meet the school’s water and energy needs. Energy is provided by a 108 kWp solar PV system, with 240 kWh of storage. Water is sourced from two boreholes and, where necessary, is heated via thermodynamic solar hot water heating systems.
- An amphitheatre serves as an outdoor auditorium, and shaded courtyards provide for more informal learning spaces.
Environmental and architectural beauty
The new LWS Campus opened in November 2022 and is a true off-the-grid, eco-build with Net Zero Carbon status, merging seamlessly into the natural beauty of the surroundings.
From an environmental point of view, the project itself is breathtaking, given the geography of the area. And the adjudicators in various national and international architectural awards thought so, too.
Among a number of other awards and accolades received, the Lapalala Wilderness School (LWS) project as designed and built has received an architectural Award for Excellence at the Corobrik/SAIA Awards 2024 in partnership with Coverland. This was followed by the award of a joint Second Place and a Highly Commended award at the World Architecture Festival (WAN), underscoring the project architectural and environmental accomplishments as envisaged by its professional team and its founders.
Along these lines, the project’s Green Building Accredited Practitioner, Thato Malapo of Solid Green Consulting, adds: “The Lapalala Wilderness School proudly holds a Net Zero Carbon – Level 2 certification from the Green Building Council of South Africa (GBCSA). This certification acknowledges the comprehensive approach taken to manage the building’s carbon footprint, encompassing both base building emissions and energy consumption associated with occupants. By achieving this, the school operates as a truly net-zero facility. This and the awards received underscores the project’s dual architectural and environmental accomplishments.”
Says the Corobrik/SAIA Excellence Awards citation, “Here, the simple warmth of the material palette meets with considered design and detailing, that reveal a deep sense of curating an immersive experience for the end-user, and promoting the intention of the client to establish a wilderness school that celebrates the beauty of this region of our country and the potential of our people as its stewards.
Construction was undertaken by Mike Buyskes Construction, and managed by their contract manager, Kieran Cunningham. Civils were by Earthworkshop was structural engineering was undertaken by the Structural Workshop.
The project was of five years in design and execution This extraordinary new campus project was made possible by funding from the Mapula Trust as founded by Clive Walker and Dale Parker.
Key roofing parameters :
Product profile: Novotexi440 by Macsteel
Steel roofing: ColorplusⓇ 0.53mm AZ150 G550 in colour Raincloud.
Professional team:
Client: Mapula Trust
Architect: Local Studio
Sustainability consultant: Solid Green
Quantity surveyor: Aestumo Avium
Main contractor: Mike Buyskes Construction
Roofing sub-contractor: Steel Roofing
Roofing steel role-former: Macsteel
Roofing steel supplier: Safal Steel
Site photography by: Sean Gibson, Dirk Jacobs and Sarel Cronje
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