Award

December 2021

Issue link: http://digital.canadawide.com/i/1433288

Contents of this Issue

Navigation

Page 66 of 79

D E C E M B E R 2 0 2 1 | 67 St. Josephine Bakhita Catholic School P H OTO G R A P H Y CO U RT E S Y OYS T RY K TA F F A RC H I T EC T U R E LT D. ST. JOSEPHINE BAKHITA CATHOLIC SCHOOL by ROBIN BRUNET T he Calgary Catholic School District (CCSD) has earned a reputation of knowing what it wants from proposed projects and communicating its needs clearly, whether the work is a renovations or new build, and this was certainly true of the development of the new St. Josephine Bakhita Catholic School in NW Calgary. A K to 6 school accommodating 600 students was required to serve the Evanston neighbourhood, and in 2018 the CCSD undertook extensive consultation with parents and other stakeholders to consider the quali- ties, attributes, and characteristics the community would like to see in the new facility. Grant MacDonald, director, con- struction at the CCSD, says, "We looked at two recent Calgary Catholic schools – St. Gianna and Divine Mercy – as a starting point for our vision on how this school would look, as well as considering feedback from principals and directors. The architect took these ideas and put their own spin on them, while working within our standards." Oystryk Taff Architecture Ltd. principal Monika Oystryk, whose firm has worked with the CCSD since 2014, elaborates: "As with past projects, the district relied on us to translate their vision into our architectural state- ment – essentially, allowing us to play with the building blocks they had developed. Funding dictated that this school would have a small footprint, and CCSD required it to be developed under the traditional learning model, meaning classrooms and hallways." Several goals were paramount: tar- geting St. Josephine for LEEDv4 Silver certification and balancing the use of durable materials and budget. Oystryk based her design on the CCSD's preferred organization of a L-shaped building that allows for maximum supervision from a single point. The gym was located central in the building across from the main entrance, and a separate entrance for the ECS classrooms was created in close proximity to the main entrance. The two classroom wings lead to modulars on either end (16 modular classrooms will be added to the school at full build out) and were augmented by clerestories for maximum penetra- tion of natural light. The learning commons and main entrance are the external focal points of the school, and because the build- ing is located on a corner site the entrance takes advantage of a south- east exposure, opening itself up to the Evanston neighbourhood. "We designed the entrance to be trans- parent and welcoming with plenty of glazing that showcases our dou- ble height lobby," Oystryk says. "And to identify this as a Catholic school, we created two metal crosses several metres in size that are inlaid into the brick at the entrance." Brick, concrete block, and metal were selected as exterior cladding, with the metal used to break up the conti- nuity of the other two materials. "For added visual appeal we angled the win- dows in the learning commons, and mimicking that in the interior are the placement of different coloured fab- ric acoustic panels, which were used extensively throughout the school and play a significant role in the project being LEED certified," says Oystryk. MacDonald adds that other LEED elements included sensors on all plumbing fixtures to limit water use. "Also, solar panels cover about 50 percent of the roof. We also created heat recovery on ventilation, displace- ment ventilation in classrooms, and electric vehicle charging stations." Construction on St. Josephine began in February of 2020, and although COVID obliged Elan Construction Limited to follow strict safety guide- lines, there were distinct benefits to the project. "It was a greenfield site with good footings as well as plenty of space for laydown and storage," says project manager Megan Heimann, adding that Elan was able to deliver the project two weeks ahead of sched- ule by working through the COVID lockdowns. People Places Design Inc. enhanced the school's ambiance – and respected the project's budget – by creating a landscape of low mainte- nance ornamental grasses and trees. St. Josephine officially opened its doors in September 2021 to welcome students in the Evanston attendance area. In the fall of 2022, the school will expand to include Grade 6 students. Oystryk says by way of conclusion, "When a client you have established a great working relationship with is actively involved in the design of a project, the outcome is always positive – and St. Josephine Bakhita School is the latest example of that. We thor- oughly enjoy our interaction with the CCSD and are looking forward to more projects." A LOCATION 3 Evanglen Close, NW Calgary, Alberta OWNER /DEVELOPER Calgary Catholic School District ARCHITECT Oystryk Taff Architecture Ltd. GENER AL CONTR ACTOR Elan Construction Limited STRUCTUR AL CONSULTANT BEI Engineering MECHANICAL CONSULTANT Remedy Engineering ELECTRICAL CONSULTANT SMP Engineering L ANDSCAPE ARCHITECT People Places Design Inc. TOTAL SIZE 3,513 square metres (core school) TOTAL COST $12.5 million

Articles in this issue

Archives of this issue

view archives of Award - December 2021