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J U N E 2 0 2 2 | 85 Sullivan Heights Secondary School Addition R EN D ER I N GS CO U RT E S Y T H I N K S PAC E A RC H I T EC T U R E P L A N N I N G I N T ER I O R D E S I G N SULLIVAN HEIGHTS SECONDARY SCHOOL ADDITION by ROBIN BRUNET E ven for professionals with plenty of school design and expansion experience, the Sullivan Heights Secondary School addition in Surrey was a special project: not only did a new building have to relieve enroll- ment pressures in the existing facility and look aesthetically pleasing, but it was also designed and constructed under challenging conditions. Henk Kampman, partner at Thinkspace Architecture Planning Interior Design, says of the 700-stu- dent project, "For one thing we had to deal with a substantial grade dif- ference on the site; also, we were physically constricted in what we could create." The need for the addition to Sullivan Heights became pub- lic knowledge in 2018, when Rob Fleming, minister of education, stated in a press release that "Sullivan Heights Secondary's students have put up with crowded hallways and por- tables for too long." He added that a $35-million investment in an expan- sion (the Surrey School District would also contribute $5 million to the proj- ect) would create 29 new classrooms and give Sullivan enough space for a total of 1,700 students. In addition to the classrooms, the expansion plans included a new gym- nasium that would be connected to the existing gym. The net result is an inte- grated building that promotes flow on the campus and draws the entire school through the rest of the site. The project would be the largest school addition ever undertaken in the region. Thinkspace was the logical choice as architects, since the firm had long established a good working relation- ship with Surrey School District and been involved in a large number of the District's new builds, renovations, and relocations over the years. Thinkspace developed a prelimi- nary design, based on programming guidelines for the school. That design ultimately had to be revised due to escalating construction costs in B.C., and Thinkspace collaborated closely with the Surrey School District and consultant team to conduct value engi- neering to offset those rising costs. "For example, the original design had a roof garden and a big canopy to the south, and both were eliminated," Kampman explains. "When it made sense, we also sourced different build- ing materials. All of this undertaken without spoiling the architectural vision – and in the end, we wound up lowering costs by up to 10 percent." Site conditions dictated the dimen- sions of the addition to a meaningful degree. "Given the number of extra students the District wanted to accom- modate and the fact that many elements and functions on site – a creek, a sports field, parking, and the adjacent Bell Performing Arts Centre – fought for space, and we had to minimize the addition's footprint," Kampman says. "This resulted in a rather unusual outcome for a secondary school: a four-storey building, located on the south side of the existing school." Also, because the sports field was six-metres higher than the existing school, the school's north face was used as a retaining wall for the new structure. "We covered that wall with shotcrete as that solution would be less disruptive to the playing field, and that would allow the construction crews to perform a straight cut exca- vation on what was a fairly tight site," says Brett Halicki, partner at Bush, Bohlman & Partners. Halicki adds that the discovery of a creek beneath the playing field neces- sitated "lots of geotechnical work plus the construction of a five-metre-deep drainage gallery on site." A fairly small footprint combined with an abundance of glazing along with minimized corridor and circu- lation space achieved the objective of natural light ingress throughout the new building. Five learning com- munities located on three levels were developed, each sharing a common project space to encourage collabo- ration and flexible, personalized learning. Breakout spaces, lifestyle labs, and a science lab (which would connect the two buildings) supported these communities, plus large multi- purpose spaces were developed for use by the community after hours. Ash Kumar, director of opera- tions and branch manager at Dawson Wallace Construction Ltd., describes the construction portion of the proj- ect as uniquely challenged, including ensuring safety measures were scru- pulously followed to keep students in the operational existing school safe. Kumar says, "COVID lock- downs added a significant challenge including material procurement and manpower difficulties. The floods of November 2021 had a significant impact to supply chain issues as mate- rial and equipment were delayed for six to eight weeks. "And yet all the project team mem- bers persevered, and thanks to our subtrades, consultancy team, and our client, all of whom were determined to stay on track to ensure we collectively reached the finish line." For his part, Kampman is look- ing forward to the opening of the expanded Sullivan Heights Secondary School this fall. "It fulfills the District's programming needs and is a unique addition to their portfolio," he says. "The new building is open and invit- ing, and we hope will be enjoyed for many years to come." A LOCATION 6248 144th Street, Surrey, B.C. OWNER /DEVELOPER Surrey School District #36 ARCHITECT Thinkspace Architecture Planning Interior Design GENER AL CONTR ACTOR Dawson Wallace Construction Ltd. STRUCTUR AL CONSULTANT Bush, Bohlman & Partners MECHANICAL CONSULTANT Rocky Point Engineering Ltd. ELECTRICAL CONSULTANT Jarvis Engineering Consultants Ltd. L ANDSCAPE ARCHITECT Viewpoint Landscape Architects Inc. TOTAL SIZE 80,000 square feet TOTAL COST $40 million

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