A collaborative process
Building an organic, holistic, and creative space
The designing of Waldorf schools is a collaborative process all over the world. While an architect is invariably responsible for the final design, the entire school community – teachers, parents, students – is invited to give their input regarding the functions that the building must serve.
From humble beginnings
The master plan for the building of Michael Mount was drawn up in 1983 by Hinrich Witt, a German architect familiar with Waldorf architectural principles – following a thorough process of consultations with teachers and parents at the time.
Rodger Reid, who chaired the Building Mandate at Michael Mount for many years, remembers:
“Central to the design of the school’s buildings is the understanding that all characteristics of an interior space, such as forms, proportions, light, colours, and textures, work profoundly on the human beings in it, even if they are not always aware of it.
The way a room works must also be appropriate to the stage of development of the children in it. Class One children, for example, feel that they are part of a family, with the teacher as a parent. They need to be held and protected. A room with a basically round form is therefore appropriate. Pink is a suitable colour. A room like this, though, would not be suitable for a High School class.
A feature that is present in all the classrooms and in some other spaces, notably the auditorium, is the rather high ceilings and their somewhat upwardly arched shape. This gives a feeling of upliftment, very necessary in our often rather depressing world.
These kinds of considerations, based as they are on the needs of the human being, have nearly always been present in planning the school’s buildings...
to Bryanston
to Bryanston
...When the school first moved to the Bryanston site, financial constraints resulted in a number of prefabricated buildings being erected. There was an agreement with the Sandton Council that these would be replaced by permanent buildings within three years.
The first permanent structure was the toilet block adjacent to the present science laboratory. It is noticeable that the roof design is rather different to any of the other buildings – it looked like and was called “the Chapel”. At Sandton Town Council’s insistence, the first three permanent classrooms were built on the Bryanston Drive side of the property. Next to be built was the Nursery School classroom closest to the sports field. Plans, drawn up by the late Johannes Jellinek (who was our Woodwork Master), were passed and building began. This classroom was built by interested fathers who took building courses under the guidance of Mr Nielson, foreman of Roberts Construction. On Thursday evenings they received theory and on Saturday mornings came the practical work. All went well until the upper walls lost alignment and Roberts Construction had to come to the rescue. The second Nursery School classroom was built professionally by them...
Auditorium upgrade
...The beautiful auditorium is the heart of the school. The project, a bold one for a school of our size, was launched by large donations from individual families, especially Mr and Mrs Wertheim Aymes. Initially only the foundations and part of the stage walls could be built. This served as an open-air theatre for a while. Further funds were raised, and the structure was brought to completion in 1989 and it truly expresses the spirit of the school community.
The office block and the foyer attached to the Auditorium add a superior finish to the whole building. These were more recently completed, as was the High School block of classrooms, which was completed in 2007. Heinz Hächler was the architect involved with these projects and he should be acknowledged for his architectural capacity which honoured the distinctive style set down by Hinrich Witt."
Auditorium upgrade
for the future
Tracy Ludick with the copper casket that was cemented into the wall of the new High School building in 2007.
for the future
Tracy Ludick with the copper casket that was cemented into the wall of the new High School building in 2007.
In March 2007 a copper casket filled with the hopes and wishes of all the High School students of that time and was buried in the main wall of the new High School block. The ceremony involving all the High School students, teachers, and the builders, was reminiscent of another, similar ceremony that took place at the school in 1972. At that time, the whole school had gathered to lay the foundation stone at the site that was destined to become the entrance to the Primary School. The ‘stone’ was a copper dodecahedron casket constructed by Professor de Brey.