Constructive characterization and degradation condition of secondary schools Case study: Industrial Schools Clara Isabel Fernandes Pereira Extended abstract Jury President: Professor Doutor Pedro Manuel Gameiro Henriques Supervisor: Professor Doutor Jorge Manuel Caliço Lopes de Brito Co-supervisor: Professor Doutor João Pedro Ramôa Ribeiro Correia Members: Professor Doutor João Paulo Janeiro Gomes Ferreira Professor Doutor Pedro Miguel Dias Vaz Paulo November 2012
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Constructive characterization and degradation condition of secondary schools
Case study: Industrial Schools
Clara Isabel Fernandes Pereira
Extended abstract
Jury
President: Professor Doutor Pedro Manuel Gameiro Henriques
Supervisor: Professor Doutor Jorge Manuel Caliço Lopes de Brito
Co-supervisor: Professor Doutor João Pedro Ramôa Ribeiro Correia
Members: Professor Doutor João Paulo Janeiro Gomes Ferreira
Professor Doutor Pedro Miguel Dias Vaz Paulo
November 2012
1
1 Introduction
In 2007, the Portuguese Government created a modernization program for the public network of sec-
ondary schools, which, in some cases, had been built in the 19th century. Facing various building
maintenance problems, this program thus aimed to plan the constructive and functional rehabilitation
of the schools as well as to establish a facility management system for the future needs.
In this context, the Instituto de Estruturas, Território e Construção (ICIST) surveyed 56 secondary schools,
identifying the main building anomalies based on a visual and qualitative methodology. These surveys
paid special attention to any structural issue or humidity related anomalies. Its conclusions would then
be considered in the rehabilitation projects.
Out of the 56 schools surveyed, the following three main groups were outlined: 15 high schools, 17
pavilion like schools and 15 industrial schools. The data collected on a homogeneous sample of build-
ings, subject to the same kind of external actions, would allow identifying identical pathological pat-
terns, with similar causes, manifested in similar building anomalies. Therefore, this paper makes a con-
structive characterization of the industrial secondary schools and an analysis of their degradations pat-
terns based on the surveys’ results.
Studies on building anomalies play an important role in increasing effectiveness of building mainte-
nance strategies, contributing to promote a more sustainable construction industry. So, the organized
gathering of information may be a useful tool for a well-informed decision-making process.
The investigation aims to obtain an overview of the degradation status of school buildings by connect-
ing some deterioration factors and recognizing similar pathological processes. For this purpose, a data-
base of building anomalies was developed for the 56 surveyed schools. The collection of data on build-
ing elements, on the main school building types and on the identified building anomalies, should allow
performing a statistical analysis about the following items: age of the building, type of structure, type of
roofing, affected building elements, type of anomaly, location, causes, severity, quantification, anomaly
chains, environmental conditions and some recommended solutions.
The obtained database model was a result of team work, including concepts and a structure that could
suit investigations on high schools, pavilion like schools and industrial schools. It is composed of sev-
eral Microsoft Excel files, one for each school, with the information structured according to three main
issues: characterization, location and anomalies. Along with the database model, a user’s guide was
developed in order to establish some ground rules and to clarify concepts and designations.
In the next sections, a historical overview of the industrial schools is introduced, followed by a construc-
tive characterization, a summary of the database methodology and the presentation of the main results.
2 Historical overview
The network of public secondary schools is a testimony of Portugal’s most recent history, including
the history of the most advanced construction methods of each period since the late 19th century.
Constructive characterization and degradation condition of secondary schools
2
The first law promoting the creation of secondary schools was written by Passos Manuel in 1836. At first,
these schools occupied the empty convents and monasteries, being progressively installed in new buildings.
Technical education was also promoted, making an effort to develop the country’s industrial activity. In the
beginning, it was centred in Lisbon and Oporto, progressively expanding to other cities. The first industrial
school built was located in Lisbon and was called Marquês de Pombal Industrial Design School (1888).
The schools from the 19th century to the beginning of the 20th century were built in accordance with
some rules of good practice. The building system was based on stone masonry walls, solid brick masonry
and timber pavements, incorporating also composite walls made of masonry and timber. Occasionally,
the pavements in halls, ground pavements and wet compartments incorporated metal beams and ceramic
vaulted bricks filled with cement. Roofs were supported by wood or metal beams.
With the onset of the republican political system, great attention was paid to the expansion of the public
network of elementary schools. But still, the secondary education system continued to be revised and im-
proved. In 1938, high schools started complying with new building standards and a public institute was
created for the construction of new schools alone. In 1947, the same applied to industrial schools, as sec-
ondary education was clearly divided into high school education and industrial technical education, each
with a specific professional purpose. The use of typified projects for each kind of school played a main
role in the success of the defined measures. In industrial schools, the first prototype was built in Lisbon, in
1948, corresponding to the first period of typified projects’ use (two periods: 1952-1959 and 1960-1969).
The first Technical Elementary School project used an economic constructive solution that could be
adapted to different kinds of land. It established that a school with 1 000 students should be built on a
land of 10 000 m² (Heitor, 2010). The project included three buildings: one for classrooms and admin-
istration, a gym and one for workshops (Figure 1). Two others projects were based on this one. The
second project conceived the workshops as a one floor building with zenithal lighting coming from
shed roofing; they would vary in size according to the school curriculum. In 1952, a third project in-
corporated the need to downsize and reposition the school buildings; the classrooms decreased in area
and height and so did the workshops, and previous coatings were replaced with cheaper ones.
Until the late 1950’s, the buildings incorporated the first concrete building methods used in Portugal, as
defined by standards from 1918 and 1935. They still had load-bearing masonry walls combined with
pavements in reinforced concrete. The pitched roof was generally still supported by wood or metal
beams. Gradually, columns and frames started to be used. The workshops of industrial schools applied
earlier more advanced building methods of reinforced concrete, with prefabricated trusses supporting the
shed roofing. Only with the Portuguese concrete building standards from 1958 and 1961, were structures
built entirely in reinforced concrete. The new building standards coupled with the tripling of the number
of students from the 1950’s to the 1960’s determined the need for an expansion of the network of sec-
ondary schools. This expansion used new typified projects for high schools and for industrial schools.
The second period of use of typified projects in industrial schools began in 1960. This new project was
called the 1st Standardized Project or Mercury Project. It adopted a (1) module for the design of the dif-
ferent buildings; (2) it provided schemes for partial articulation between buildings, according to specific
Case study: Industrial Schools
3
needs (3) and constructive details for structural and other kinds of constructive elements; (4) between
each building, standardized connection elements were included, with an extension corresponding to the
ground’s size (Figure 2). The standardized building elements were expected to contribute to an optimized
technique and a more accurate planning, and to have economic benefits as well. In the late 1950’s the
Government expected to have an industrial school for each town with about 10 to 15 000 inhabitants.
Figure 1: Perspective of the project for the Commercial and Industrial School
of Setúbal, programmed in 1948 and built in 1956 (JCETS, 1951).
Figure 2: Plan of the first floor of the Commercial and Industrial
School of Montijo, using the 1st Standardized Project (Heitor, 2010).
The 2nd and 3rd Standardized Projects followed with different kinds of functional adaptations, always
promoting a standardized kind of construction. By this time, the Portuguese Government started col-
laborating with the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) on pilot
projects for pedagogically adequate school buildings. These studies would originate a new kind of sec-
ondary schools for the future, incorporating prefabrication processes in their projects.
The democratic regime (1974) had tremendous consequences on education. The new Constitution insti-
tuted the right to equal opportunities in school access and success, instructing the State to ensure a free,
compulsory education for the entire population, taking place on a public network of schools. Secondary
education was then unified, and the terms high school and industrial school were phased out. Meanwhile,
structural safety standards had come a long way, as in 1983 some new, more accurate rules were pub-
lished, namely in what concerns a more advanced seismic analysis. The new standards together with an
increased prefabrication method set the schools construction expansion for the late 20th century.
The expansion of the schools network was much more intense in other countries. Until the 1900’s there
was a constructive technical revolution. At first, the use of iron in buildings was disguised by historical
shapes, but it was progressively assumed, as could be seen in the Crystal Palace (Joseph Paxton, Lon-
don, 1851), which also constituted the first prefabrication example, or the Eiffel Tower (Paris, 1889).
This kind of buildings was born in the World Fairs’ context, where each country presented the most
recent advanced technology, simultaneously stimulating the promotion of technical education. Iron was
then combined with concrete, as Portland cement was developed, and reinforced concrete was invented.
Industrial schools began to thrive in Austria, France, England, Switzerland, the United States of Amer-
ica and in Scandinavian countries, as Germany was the main reference. In England, most of the first
industrial schools were associated with private interests and local factories (Wheelwright, 1901).
In the United States of America, the first technical schools did not teach a craft or a profession, but fo-
Constructive characterization and degradation condition of secondary schools
4
cused on craftsmanship (Wheelwright, 1901). A more refined school was built in Boston in 1893, the Bos-
ton Mechanic Arts High School (Figure 3). In these American schools, as well as in Germany, special at-
tention was given to construction work, also including forestry, agriculture, mining, commerce, navigation,
weaving, pottery and other kinds of industrial work like metallurgy, tin, iron and steel work and turnery.
The search for a new industrialized architecture continued. At first, the use of vegetable shapes and fluid
lines was Arts Nouveau’s answer. It concerned about craftsmanship mastery and had some embryonic
thoughts on the shape suitability to function according to the used material. Soon, the ornament started to
become more and more unessential and opened way to industrial production, as the Deutscher Werkbund
flourished. The AEG factory (Behrens, 1908-09) was a reference on its structural concept, followed by the
Fargus factory (Gropius and Meyer, 1911), anticipating the language of rational functionalism.
Meanwhile, in Eastern Europe, futurism and constructivism set new goals. They combined the most recent
constructive techniques with the new functions attributed to buildings. In the Netherlands, neoplasticism
abolished the natural shape. On top of all these ideas the Modern Movement was born, moving away from
picturesque and historicism trends, giving way to new aesthetics. This is the context in which the Bauhaus
was founded in 1919 at Weimar (Germany). It combined the local arts and crafts school with the fine arts
academy, conceiving an idea of education that intertwined design, drawing and industry. In 1926, this school
moved to Dessau, as it was not welcome at Weimar. The new school building (by Gropius) was divided into
three different blocks. The first block was called the technical school, where classrooms and laboratories
functioned. On the opposite side of this building, the workshops’ block rose and between both an auditori-
um and a canteen were located, with the upper floors occupied by an apartments tower (Figure 4). The
whole school reflected the principles that the Bauhaus advocated, showing how well they could work.
Figure 3: The machines workshop at the Boston Mechanic Arts High
School (Boston Public Library).
Figure 4: Plan of the ground floor of the Bauhaus at Dessau (1925-
1926) with the three main buildings (Weston, 2005).
Functional rationalism was very useful in a post-war scenario with great housing needs, whereas the repro-
duction of shapes, standardization and prefabrication worked in favour of a rapid reconstruction. In the
1960’s, prefabrication was seen by the construction industry as a winning bet; even though it depended on
qualified manpower, it promised to increase rigour of construction and a positive improvement to acoustic
and thermal issues, based on a careful detailing process. England employed prefabrication models in the
post war schools on a large scale, based on a faster and more economic construction method.
Finally, in the industrial era, the school was developed into a highly controlled space which served to
Case study: Industrial Schools
5
instil a sense of discipline, seen as an essential trait to prosper in the age of the machines. The classical
classroom, which has not changed that much, was a by-product of the industrial revolution. The
school model of buildings filled with corridors and teacher centred classrooms spread and is, to this
day, the prevalent and most widely used school reference.
3 Constructive characterization
This research uses a sample of 15 industrial schools, listed in Table 1. Information on their constructive
systems was gathered in a database. It included a general plan, the year of construction and areas. Each
building was also characterized and included in a functional typology of industrial school buildings, such
as I.TF1 Main building, I.TF3 Workshop building and I.TF4 Gym. The structural materials and the main
coatings were described, based on a list of materials collected from all kinds of secondary schools.
Table 1: Identification of the industrial schools.
Name City Year Observations
Tomás Cabreira Secondary School Faro 1950 industrial school adapted from a preexisting high school to the
functional program of industrial schools from 1947
Sebastião da Gama Secondary School Setúbal 1956 industrial school: typified project from the 1947 reform
Francisco de Arruda Secondary School Lisboa 1956 industrial school: typified project from the 1947 reform
S. Lourenço Secondary School Portalegre 1958 industrial school: typified project from the 1947 reform
Jácome Ratton Secondary School Tomar 1958 industrial school: typified project from the 1947 reform
Emídio Navarro Secondary School Almada 1958 industrial school: unique project similar to the typified project from
the 1947 reform
Dr. Solano de Abreu Secondary School Abrantes 1959 industrial school: unique project similar to the typified project from
the 1947 reform
D. Manuel I Secondary School Beja 1961 industrial school: typified project from the 1947 reform
D. Sancho II Secondary School Elvas 1961 industrial school: unique project from the expansion begun in 1958
Ferreira Dias Secondary School Sintra 1962 industrial school: 1st standardized project, from the expansion
begun in 1958
Moura Secondary School Moura 1963 industrial school: 1st standardized project, from the expansion
begun in 1958
Jorge Peixinho Secondary School Montijo 1963 industrial school: 1st standardized project, from the expansion
begun in 1958
Rainha Santa Isabel Secondary School Estremoz 1964 industrial school: 1st standardized project, from the expansion
begun in 1958
Pedro de Santarém Secondary School Lisboa 1968 industrial school: unique project from the expansion begun in 1958
Henriques Nogueira Secondary School Torres
Vedras 1969
industrial school: 1st standardized project, from the expansion
begun in 1958
The industrial schools were based on two main projects. The first one, from 1947, assumed the main
building as the most important one and gave it a noble entrance. Its plan was a rectangle, with the en-
trance on one of the extremes, on top or laterally, according to the ground needs. It had three floors
with central corridors and staircases on both tops, which were well lit so that the corridor was also
illuminated. It should not be too long. Corridors were kept as short as possible. South to the corridor
there were classrooms, and on the North side there were drawing rooms. The solution for the gym
building had already been tested in some high schools: the gym was on the upper floor while, on the
Constructive characterization and degradation condition of secondary schools
6
ground floor, the kitchen and the canteen were installed, as well as some accessory rooms. The work-
shops building had only one floor with large rooms for manual and workshop education.
As for the second project, known as the 1st Standardized Project, the target number of students ranged
from 800 to 1 200. The functional program was distributed by multiple blocks, not only the main
building, the gym and the workshops building, but also some smaller blocks like toilets, students asso-
ciation and isolated classrooms. The main building sheltered the classrooms and had a linear configura-
tion. It maintained the use of a central corridor, in the middle of which a third staircase was included,
connecting two subsidiary bodies of 44 m. One corridor was transformed into two that could also be
uneven by ½ or 1 pavement. The used module was conceived for classes with 36 students, and it had
7 x 8 m2. The structure could assume a solution of 1/3, with façade columns every 2.7 m, or a solution
of 1/2, with façade columns every 4 m. The second solution allowed opening windows in entrances
and some other special rooms. The structural system was composed of reinforced concrete frames,
lightweight slabs over classrooms and solid slabs over corridors. The different buildings were united by
an exterior walkways system, structurally autonomous, as they were separated by extension joints.
The results obtained regarding the constructive characterization revealed that 7 out of 15 schools were
built in the 1950’s, while 8 were built in the 1960’s. According to the British standard BS 7543:1992 (Dias,
2003), school buildings are planned for a life cycle of, at least, 60 years. In 2011, industrial schools were
reaching the end of their service life expectancy, if no rehabilitation work was done.
Excluding walkways, a total of 84 buildings were surveyed, of which 24% are workshop buildings, 19%
are minor buildings and 18% are main buildings, as well as gyms. Within the sample, 8 of the 84 buildings
were built from the ground up or adapted later, after the construction of the school.
Distinguishing schools exclusively built in reinforced concrete structures from the ones also using stone
masonry walls provides interesting results (Figure 5). There are 6 out of 15 main buildings, and 6 out of
15 gyms, using stone masonry walls, combined with concrete slabs and, occasionally, concrete columns.
In total, the structural use of stone masonry represents 21% of the buildings sample. It is also important
to analyze data on the roofing type used on school buildings. From the three types identified, 68% of
buildings had a pitched roof, 55% flat roofs and 21% had a shed roof. Pitched roofs are more common
in main buildings and gyms (Figure 6). Only workshops have shed roofs, although one of the schools
uses a similar system combining pitched and flat roofs instead. Flat roofs are much more common in
external walkways. Claddings vary from ceramic tiles, fibrocement plates and cement tiles. Ceramic tiles
are more common in main buildings and fibrocement plates in workshop buildings. There is a resem-
blance between main buildings and gym buildings. They are both unique buildings in each school, with
similar constructive systems and use of structural materials, roofing and claddings.
The sample represents industrial schools in use, without any kind of rehabilitation, except for some
occasional maintenance work done to solve local problems and the degradation of materials. Aside
from the structural materials, already mentioned, walls are built in ceramic masonry, plastered and
painted. Windows have frames in wood, anodized aluminium, steel and concrete to support simple
panes of glass. In some cases, these materials were replaced by double glazed lacquered aluminium.
Case study: Industrial Schools
7
0
5
10
15
20
25
30
Nu
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er of b
uil
din
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or
walk
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stone
masonry walls
reinforced
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I.TF1 Main building, I.TF2 Buildings for collective use,