Page 14 - Landscape-Issue124

PROJECT

UCT SCHOOL OF EDUCATION

The School of Education is a careful nestling of a well-considered building, in the

‘forest’ of UCT’s lower campus. The project entailed the development, detailing and
implementation of the hard and soft landscaping surrounding this new building
complex. It was first and foremost an exercise in protecting the many old trees

existing on site.

Project Team
Client: UCT Capital Planning
and Projects
Project Manager and
Principal Agent: Fluid Projects
Landscape Architects:
Tarna Klitzner Landscape
Architects (TKLA)
Architects:
Jacobs Parker Architecture
Landscape Contractor:
Contours Group
Arborist: Topfell
Green Star Consultants:
Sow and Reap

Shadows from established Platanus acerifolius trees soften the impact of the east building façade on ‘Lover’s Walk’

KLA guided the project architects, building, became the informants for the identifying the potential building
engineers and construction team landscape architectural design, resulting footprint in relation to the historic grove
Ton how best to achieve the shared in a softly planted, undulating ground of trees. The new School of Education
design vision, while ensuring that the plane with outside seating and teaching (SOE) building is embedded within a
health of the existing ‘forest’ on site was spaces held by the developed tree leafy, treed precinct which forms part
not compromised. The hard landscaping canopies. This article focuses on aspects of an established tree canopy linking
neatly and organically interweaves relating to tree protection as the trees the mountain to the Liesbeek River. The
natural ground lines, points of access, presented a powerful force in the laying base information used to confirm the
tree calipers and student routes to create out of the building, as well as the way in positions, height and canopy of the trees
a successful precinct. which the completed precinct functions. included a conventional survey diagram
The heritage trees, in combination with As the appointed landscape architects, as well as a Lidar survey, which was
the need for universal access into the TKLA prepared informant diagrams considered necessary to accurately locate

12 Landscape SA • Issue 124 2023