Set in the picturesque Durbanville wine valley on the outskirt of
Cape Town, Vissershok Primary School is a rural school where most
pupils are children of farm workers and underprivileged
communities living in Du Noon, a poverty-stricken township several
kilometres away.
The Vissershok Container Classroom, sponsored by three SA
companies- Woolworths, Saf... read more

Set in the picturesque Durbanville wine valley on the outskirt of
Cape Town, Vissershok Primary School is a rural school where most
pupils are children of farm workers and underprivileged
communities living in Du Noon, a poverty-stricken township several
kilometres away.
The Vissershok Container Classroom, sponsored by three SA
companies- Woolworths, Safmarine and AfriSam, is a 12m recycled
container converted into an independent classroom for 25 Grade R
(age 5-6) pupils.
The first phase of the project started with a design competition
called “Making the Difference Through Design”. Run by Woolworths
annually, the competition is aimed at introducing design to local
high school pupils. This year the brief calls for creative solutions on
how a recycled container can be adapted to help under-resourced
schools.
The winner of the competition, Marshaarn Brink, is a Grade 10 pupil
(age 15) that delighted the jury with his playful ideas of an outdoor
jungle gym and several sensible storage solutions for the container.
The ideas were translated by Tsai Design Studio into a final design
that also takes the site conditions and environmental factors into
consideration.
Built with limited means and budget, the final product incorporated
four elements designed to maximise its usage:
Learning Area- Grade R pupils uses the container as their
classroom in the morning, which also doubles as a small library in
the afternoon for the rest of the school.
A big sheltering roof insulates the recycled container from direct
sunlight, while the gap in-between acts as heat buffer that reduces
heat gain. Cross ventilation is achieved by a series of colourful
windows on both side of the container
Gathering Area- the steep site offered an opportunity to extend
the patio with stepped seating, something the school lacked, for
pupils to sit outside during lunch and socialise. The amphitheatre
will also serves as an assembly area for the school.
Play Area- Marshaan Brink’s concept for the play area is translated
to be part of the container like a pair of outstretched arms. The
steel frames extend outwards to hold play equipments for the
younger kids.
Growing Area- A green wall in the guise of a vertical vegetable
garden shelters the play area from the prevailing South Eastly wind.
A large area adjacent to the container classroom was cleared and
turned into a vegetable garden. Besides been educational, the
garden will allow the school to have fresh produce to add to their
feeding program.
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