Award

photo courtesy QYA Group 2 Architecture Interior Design Career and Technology Centre ��� Lord Shaughnessy High School by Bill Armstrong pproaches to education have changed a lot since the 1960s. That is certainly reflected in the transformation of Calgary���s Lord Shaughnessy High School into a Career and Technology Centre (CTC). The CTC, operated by the Calgary Board of Education, offers students from high schools throughout the city opportunities to develop skills and learn through work experiences and trades training through various course offerings. This includes work experiences and credentialed trades training which helps students decide on a career path they can pursue after leaving school. While the school always had a focus on vocational education, delivering CTC programming meant that spaces within the building needed modernization and re-purposing to fulfill its new role. On top of that, the work was done while the school remained in operation, a challenge for students, staff and construction workers alike. The school opened in 1967, with an addition constructed in 1984. The newly launched CTC is a prototype building and program, the first of its kind in Alberta, states Robert Ashley, the manager of architectural and engineering services for the Board. ���CTC program courses are designed to integrate with students��� regular high school timetables so that they can attend both facilities. CTC learning suites offer dual credential and/or post-secondary preparation programs in welding, auto body, pre-engineering, hairstyling, culinary arts, media design, business information technology and health services,��� Ashley explains. Equipping the building for its new role included leveraging limited resources to install the most energy efficient systems possible, replacing the mechanical and electrical systems, abating hazardous materials, upgrading to meet current building codes, completing interior renovations and constructing a new entryway that has brought the total building space to 10,253 square metres. The addition was part of a right-sizing exercise for the A 104/��� ��� February 2013 p104-105CareerTechCntr.indd 104 building, explains Susan Taff, project architect for the project���s prime consultant, QYA Group 2 Architecture Interior Design. Her team wanted to breathe vitality back into the aging facility and give people the feeling they were entering an exciting place for learning, where students would have opportunities to explore in an intense way the skills that will help them start their careers. With a long wish list and a limited budget, the firm worked closely with cost consultant TechCost to maximize the design within the available budget. ���As part of achieving this ���wow��� factor that you are entering an engaging Location 2336 53 Avenue SW Calgary, Alberta Owner/Developer Calgary Board of Education Architect QYA Group 2 Architecture Interior Design General Contractor Westcor Construction Ltd. Structural Consultant BEI Engineering (2000) Inc. Mechanical Consultant Hemisphere Engineering Electrical Consultant Stebnicki + Partners Total Area 110,362 square feet (10,252 square metres) Construction Cost Undisclosed learning environment,��� Taff explains, ���we decided to create a new main entry that would also become the social and community hub, welcoming students, staff and the community with the aroma of coffee and baked goods wafting in from the adjacent market caf��. The market caf�� leads into the Learning Commons, which used to be the gymnasium. It is now a dynamic, flexible learning space designed for individuals, and small or large groups. The Commons is a technology-rich environment where the furniture is easily reconfigured, with easy access to power, data and communications technologies, with an eye on optimizing the learning environment well into the future.��� ���The Learning Commons is now the heart of the CTC,��� Taff notes. She adds that in the original facility getting to the second floor was not obvious, and the QYA Group 2 team designed a main staircase to the second level that greets visitors when they enter, and serves as a walkway overlooking the Learning Commons. The walkway also acts as a connector to the professional development spaces and student learning labs on the second floor. This design work, Taff continues, was the result of a highly collaborative process with numerous key stakeholders, since there was no program to start from that defined what each of the specialized learning suites should contain to meet the industry standard. The QYA Group 2 team drew information from other institutions such as Red Deer College, SAIT and Olds College to develop these requirements. They also worked with the project steering committee for many months as their thinking developed and evolved around how education is delivered. The older model, Taff observes, involved high schools offering options such as woodworking, welding or cosmetology, and constantly playing catch-up as new technologies entered the workplace. This is not a sustainable way to offer students training on the latest equipment that meets industry standards. The CTC is designed to be sustainable, she adds. ���As a prototype,��� says Taff, ���one can think of this facility as a ���testing lab.��� The intent is to learn from, improve and understand what is ���needed��� to teach successfully the various Career and Technology clusters. This Centre was designed to be responsive and flexible, adapting to change and the evolving curriculum, thereby future-proofing the facility.��� General contractor Westcor Construction began working on the project in spring 2011, and substantially completed its work in fall 2012. Westcor project manager Ron Salat says re-purposing and upgrading existing spaces to meet the new program needs, along with the addition, was accomplished in phases, since the school remained in operation throughout the project. ���We had to deal with a building that was open to teachers, staff and students, Salat notes. ���Westcor���s safety program, which we had in place for all departments, had to be customized to deal with the unique challenges of a school remaining operational during construction.��� Good cooperation and coordination among all parties, Salat notes, ensured students and staff were provided with a safe learning environment. Weekly meetings with representatives from the CBE construction team, the prime consultants QYA Group 2, and Westcor���s superintendent and project manager, helped address the complex conditions. Some specific safety measures included, ������ providing solid hoarding walls, a great deal of signage, as well as secure fenced emergency exits through our construction site,��� Salat explains. As the CTC nears completion (the media design learning suite will open early in 2013) students, parents and provincial government representatives who have toured the facility have been impressed, says Ashley. In turn, he adds, students have shown strong interest in the programming offered at the CTC, indicating that this prototype building is at the forefront of new ways of delivering education in the senior years of high school. ��� Flynn Canada brilliant Career and Technology Centre ��� Lord Shaughnessy High School 13-01-22 4:09 PM

• Cover