Maun college nears completion
Historical Background
Botswana College of Distance and Open Learning (BOCODOL) was created by an Act of Parliament in December 1998. Its creation marked a milestone in the development of Education for Botswana and a significant step towards realizing Botswana’s Vision 2016, which emphasizes the elimination of poverty through the provision of knowledge and skills.
Today, the college has, in addition to its headquarters in Gaborone, five (5) regional offices in Gaborone, Francistown, Palapye, Kang and now newly in Maun that operate through study centers country-wide.
Construction of the new Maun branch commenced in August 2008 and the P100 million educational institution is expected to be complete by July 2010
The entire design of Botswana College of Distance and Open Learning (BOCODOL) MAUN is geared at being as environmentally friendly as possible.
GENERAL OVERVIEW
The main setup of BOCODOL Maun is a massive block made up of various administrations which share the same space and roof. All functions have been combined in a compact building to accommodate all services. The administrative area is organized in a semi-open plan arrangement, with some functions such as registries and senior executive offices closed off. All other admin spaces are open, but provision has been made in the design for re-arrangement at any time.
DESIGN CONCEPT
The entire design of Botswana College of Distance and Open Learning (BOCODOL) MAUN is geared at being as environmentally friendly as possible.
Reduce heat gain
The core of the building is designed in concrete and brickwork, with vertical service ducts and concrete floors. This is never exposed to the sun and it is the (cool) “spine” of the building. In contrast, the (hot) “skin” of the building (external facets), which is constantly being exposed to the sun, is designed in light material with heavy insulation to absorb very little thermal energy.
Reduce cooling load
The entire building is oriented east-west, so that the low sun in the morning and evening only reaches the smaller elevations. The longer north elevation is shaded by overhangs, brise-soleils and light shelves, because the northern sun is higher in the sky. The south elevation will not receive any sunlight.
In addition passive cooling has been incorporated in the design. This has best been achieved by maintaining coolness in the building and not allowing temperatures to increase much. Natural ventilation is provided in the roof over the entire central hallway, to let warm air escape, eliminating the need to cool it in areas where it is not required. Where it is required air-conditioning is centralized in two systems: chilled water and evaporated cooling system, which use very little energy. The way they work is that water is evaporated, thus cooling and adding moisture to the air. Along the northern and western sides large planters will be put in place to reduce heat reflection to the building.
Reduce electricity consumption
In the future there will be photovoltaic (PV) panels along the roof and hallway as well as the whole northern side of the service area. The purpose of these panels is to convert solar energy to electrical energy. They will be expected to power all Information and communication technology (ICT) equipment and a large portion of the artificial lighting. The southern side of the hallway skylight is translucent and therefore also allows natural light to penetrate.
All rooms will be fitted with light sensors and motion sensors to allow for automatic operation of artificial light. Artificial lights will go on when there is someone in it and turn off when vacant. This step taken towards making this school as energy efficient as possible regulates the use of artificial lighting. Since this is a system new to many, it will be a “install and forget” system in place to help those who are not used to automatic lighting. The efficiency of natural lighting is improved through the use of light shelves along the northern side.
Reduce water consumption
The design has combined structural and functional elements. Along both first floor service areas are large concrete gutters which double as roof supports. Rainwater which falls on the inward sloping roof goes through an underground channel (also acting as foundation) and is collected in a big “balancing pond”. Sewerage is treated and also put in the same pond. It could then be used for irrigation and re-used for flushing toilets.
ADDITIONAL FACILITIES
There is also a centralized restaurant and kitchen in the scheme, which can be completely closed off from the rest of the building should the client wish to outsource it. The same applies to the hostel block, which has been designed as a hotel separate from the building. The hotel is equipped with all necessary facilities.
Besides two small conference rooms there is a large conference hall which is located underground so that it does not receive direct sunlight. Its roof will be a glass pyramid which allows for the beautiful outside environment to be seen from within, but the glass will be sound-proof so that outside noise does not interfere with the conference proceedings. Flat screen TV’s will also be included for presentations to larger audiences. There also staff houses to accommodate all who will be working in the school.
REMARKABLE FEATURES
The design comprises a landmark building with modern solutions and technologies, and accommodates the required functional and operational capabilities. It also incorporates state of the art technology to ensure emphasis on reducing usage of non-renewable resources. This is indeed a building to be proud of.
Challenges
Maun is located on the very north of the country so the main challenge during construction was the distant location of the site. Seeing as most technologies incorporated in the school design required very specialized knowledge, the experts were located far from the site which meant they had to travel long distances to complete their contracted tasks. Care had to be taken not to design “over the top” technological marvels which can only be serviced and maintained by technicians who live many kilometers away.
Despite the minor hick-ups the team faced during construction, BOCODOL Maun will soon be complete and it will fulfill its vision to “provide quality, innovative, open and distance learning programmes and services to empower our clients with knowledge and skills for global competitiveness.”
PROJECT TEAM
Client/Employer: Botswana College of Distance and Open Learning
Mechanical engineer: Chessnut Management
Consulting engineer: Africacon/Aurecon
Architect: Agora Architecture
Contractor: Tuwana Construction
