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44 | FEBRUA RY 2019 Lake St. Martin School PHOTOGRAPHY COURTESY STANTEC by ROBIN BRUNET Lake St. Martin School F or many, Lake St. Martin First Nation (LSMFN) residents that were displaced by the flood in 2011 of the Northern Interlake com- munity, September 12, 2018 was a day to remember. That was when Jane Philpott, minister of Indigenous ser- vices, congratulated the First Nation on the grand opening of its new Kindergarten to Grade 12 Lake St. Martin School. While the striking 4,032-square- metre facility by Stantec Architecture and Penn-Co Construction Canada Ltd. represents an ideal mix of function and architectural flourishes, it more impor- tantly means stability for students (many First Nation youths had been shuffled around Winnipeg since 2011). The $18.9-million building can accommodate up to 324 students and is visually striking due to being shaped like a "X," with one leg of the X being dou- ble height and overlapping the other leg. The school contains a library, an Indigenous language classroom, a special education resource room, industrial arts and home economics classrooms, science laboratory, cafete- ria, gymnasium, and administrative spaces. Outdoor features include a track and field area, soccer pitch, base- ball diamond, two play structures, and an outdoor hockey rink. The project was funded by the Government of Canada and is part of the Operation Return Home project, a part- nership with the Manitoba provincial government to return flood evacuees to rebuilt, sustainable home communities. Dora Batista, architectural intern at Stantec, says, "Prior to launching into the design, there was a period of asking questions, listening to and interpreting the concerns of the LSMFN community. This process led to the uncovering of two overarching concepts that became the fundamental design criteria in the proj- ect: safety and contemporaneity. The client-embraced concepts were archi- tecturally articulated through spatial organization, massing, and materiality." An X shape was decided for the school because, according to Batista, it "optimizes the need for separa- tion [between the different student age groups] and passive surveillance, while simultaneously offering a cen- tral hub to promote community and connection." The administration area would be located at the point where all building wings converge, for easy staff monitoring of students; plus, secu- rity doors would control access to the wings in the evenings, while the com- munity core and ancillary space would remain accessible. Batista adds that the building form "evolved into a flattened 'X' to allow for natural light and views to penetrate into the school's core. The carved-out exterior rooms became covered com- munity spaces. These 'found' spaces allow the plan to meet the required program area, while also providing window access and natural light to penetrate the centre of the school." As for contemporaneity, Batista notes that during the community con- sultation, user groups "expressed LOCATION Lake St. Martin First Nation, Manitoba OWNER/DEVELOPER Lake St. Martin First Nation ARCHITECT/ STRUCTURAL/MECHANICAL/ ELECTRICAL CONSULTANT Stantec Architecture GENERAL CONTRACTOR Penn-Co Construction Canada Ltd. TOTAL SIZE 4,032 square metres TOTAL COST (CONSTRUCTION) $18.9 million their intent that the building doesn't need to 'represent' First Nation prin- ciples through symbolic imitation. Rather, its purpose is to be something that embodies First Nation principles. Utilitarianism and pragmatism super- seded mimicry and ornamentation. This was physically manifested in Lake St. Martin School through simplicity in form, construction, maintenance, and material expression." Batista adds, "Longevity is an important aspect of sustainability that we seriously consider at Stantec. Masonry, on both the exterior and interior, are typical for educational facilities; robust materials and simple maintenance are essential in order to allow a long life cycle to the project." Lake St. Martin is a three-hour drive from Winnipeg, but considered remote to an extent because mate- rials and labour mainly come from that Manitoban city. However, Mark Thiessen, senior project manager for Penn-Co Construction, says, "Our com- pany was involved in building the new water treatment plant and other facili- ties for LSMFN, but the school proved to be the smoothest-running of all these projects. Ground broke in April of 2017 and we were completed in August of 2018, several months ahead of schedule – something we're extremely proud of." The reason for Penn-Co's suc- cess pertained to Thiessen breaking down the work "into five mini-proj- ects, which allowed trades to commit fewer resources while shortening the overall construction schedule. This required tremendous buy-in from all the sub trades. So instead of us moving the work along sequentially, any visi- tor on site would see steel studs being installed in one wing of the facility, con- crete pouring in another wing, roofing being installed in another, and so on." While the compressed sched- ule required this degree of ingenuity, Thiessen was struck by the elegance of the emerging building. "For example, the core area of the school is comprised of exposed glulam and wood decking, and the corridor ceilings are a beau- tiful wood grain finish tile," he says. "Floor-to-ceiling windows in the core brought natural light deep into the common areas, and the entire facility really is visually attractive." Penn-Co was also responsible for all landscaping and the creation of the soc- cer pitch, baseball diamond, and other amenities. "We arranged the construc- tion schedule so that we had about 80 percent of all these elements completed by the summer of 2017," says Thiessen. "Then we left a buffer around the school perimeter and focused on its construc- tion. That way, the grass and other plantings could take root as the school took shape, with everything ready for use by September of 2018." By the end of 2018, the first phase of Operation Return Home, including 190 new homes, was complete and many evacuees had returned to LSMFN. Chief Adrian Sinclair, Lake St. Martin First Nation, said of the massive undertak- ing and the new Lake St. Martin School specifically, "Our youth are our future leaders and education is fundamen- tal to their success. As our members make the transition back to our new community, we must ensure there is no disruption of their lifestyle. The new Lake St. Martin First Nation School is a tremendous facility, not only for our youth, but for our community." A FM36643.indd

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