EDUPLEX PRIMARY SCHOOL EXTENSIONS
PRETORIA, GAUTENG
Completed: 2007
SNAPP Team: Sonja; Patrick
Nico is the Founder and Director of the EDUPLEX School, whose vision is to “Make a difference in deaf education”.
This simple statement coupled with a profound conviction, has succeeded in creating a world renowned facility in an astonishingly short space of time. SNAPP Architects has been fortunate to have been part of this vision. We work well together because we understand one another’s needs and share the resolve see the job through as a team.
We generally tee off with a rough accommodation list and high level budget, compiled by Nico in conjunction with the Board of Directors. We then prepare several different options, from the conservative, to off the wall, for discussion and brainstorming. The brief is then refined with input from senior management and our dedicated design team. We find this inclusive process fosters ownership of the project and helps identify problem areas at an early stage. Once the concept has been resolved, the whole required professional team joins the design process, in order to finalise the tender documentation for the appointment of a principal contractor. Construction can now begin under the watchful eye of the professional team. Site meetings and walk-abouts are scheduled for every fortnight to monitor progress, accuracy and quality. We request that the client, consultants and contractor attend the meetings to ensure transparency and enhance communication. We take considerable pride in the fact that all our projects have been delivered on time and within budget.
EDUPLEX is unique in that deaf students are taught inclusively with their normal hearing colleagues. Classes are acoustically designed and treated to accomplish this end. Each class room is fitted with a device which enables the teacher to communicate via boom-mike directly to the children’s earpieces. Every device is frequency specific to that class room to avoid interference. Additionally, each class room has an adjoining conversation room for one-on-one instruction by auxiliary specialist tutors, should a student have difficulty understanding a concept.
Our claims are supported by testimonials from the client and glowing tributes from donors and visitors alike.
Photography : Patrick Pretorius