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M A R C H 2 0 2 3 | 81 Mountainside Secondary School – Seismic Upgrade and Renovation P H OTO G R A P H Y CO U RT E S Y I R EDA L E A RC H I T EC T U R E MOUNTAINSIDE SECONDARY SCHOOL – SEISMIC UPGRADE AND RENOVATION E very student in B.C. deserves to learn in a seismically safe envi- ronment. This is why, back in 2005, the Ministry of Education announced a comprehensive seismic upgrading program to make schools safer in the event of an earthquake. While the Seismic Mitigation Plan faced numerous hurdles, it was a huge cause for celebration when Mountainside Secondary School (the 15th and final building in the plan for the North Vancouver School District) saw the completion of its seismic upgrade and renovation. Mountainside was included in the Ministry's Seismic Mitigation Program as it was assessed as hav- ing high structural seismic risk. "The North Vancouver Board of Education has always worked hard with the Ministry of Education to ensure that our schools are not only seismically safe, but also structurally updated to support 21st-century learning. Mountainside is the 15th project since 2007 to be seismically upgraded or rebuilt," says Christie Sacré, chair, North Vancouver Board of Education. Originally built in 1959 as Balmoral Junior Secondary School and designed by notable architects Thompson, Berwick & Pratt, Mountainside Secondary School underwent a num- ber of alterations over the years. The school – composed of four major building blocks built over a 15-year period – used different construc- tion methodology with a different seismic reaction. Many of the exist- ing building components also contained hazardous materials, as is expected in buildings of this age. Renovating and seismi- cally upgrading a building like this required a team that would understand the nuances and chal- lenges ahead. This was one of the many reasons why Iredale Architecture and construction man- agers Unitech won the RFP and were awarded the bid in 2019. "We had recently finished a $30-million seismic upgrade and par- tial replacement of Georges P. Vanier High School on Vancouver Island. That project was included as part of the 2018 A4LE Conference Educational Tour and this caught the atten- tion of School District No. 44. [North Vancouver]. When the RFP came out to seismically upgrade and renovate Mountainside Secondary School, we put together a highly experienced team of architects and engineers and led a joint submission to win the proj- ect. Our role during the project was as architect, prime consultant, and building envelope professional," says Graham Coleman, principal and lead architect at Iredale Architecture. Construction on the school began in early 2020, and among the many challenges of the project was giv- ing the 15 new large exterior concrete buttresses an attractive architectural feel so that they would contribute aesthetically to the exterior design of the existing high school, rather than detract from it. "We worked closely with Unitech and Dorosh, the concrete subtrade, to develop art- ful curved but reusable slip-forms that create elegant exterior flying buttresses in a cost-effective fash- ion. Constrained to only ³⁄4-inch play within the required concrete cover, we developed a play of positive and nega- tive planes, and chamfered vertical flutes to give the massive buttresses an interesting textured finish. We then washed both sides of the but- tresses with exterior accent lighting to heighten the visual delight. The trade used Agilia concrete and the finish came out beautifully," says Coleman. Jeff Peters, project manager at Unitech, agrees that the buttresses were an interesting challenge, adding "all had to have a large foot- ing with soil anchors [DY WIDAGs] that were in the ground. Then rebar, then forming, then foot- ings, then the buttresses, which are not only an architectural design but a structural element. It really was quite challenging to make it look good with huge buttresses." Thankfully, partway through the project the Province proactively increased the project scope allow- ing for a complete exterior envelope replacement, including all new cladding, exterior insulation, con- cealed-fastener metal cladding, and exterior Kawneer windows. "Our team developed a new exterior enve- lope look that integrated into the existing hole while the project was under construction," says Coleman. As part of the project, all of the exterior windows and exterior clad- ding was removed, as well as many of the interior finishes to introduce significant new seismic steel that connects the interior diaphragms to the new exterior flying buttresses. This demolition was done in phases with protective hoarding and desig- nated learning hours to minimize the impact on the fully occupied school. In terms of the exterior, because the project evolved to allow an exten- sive envelope remediation and upgrade, Iredale Architecture was able to apply current envelope strat- egies and material approaches that enhance and unify the overall archi- tectural expression of the school. Being located on a sloped site with a full-storey difference in grade sloping from east to the west, the primary intent of the interior renovations was to cre- ate delightful learning spaces for the two principal academic wings that are filled with natural light. "As with all such projects, we were cognizant that we were always work- ing within budget constraints and seeking ways to amplify the impact of those budgets where possible. For example, the entry concourse of the school had undergone an inte- rior upgrade relatively recently, and some of the material palette – natu- ral maple panelling and glass – was sympathetic to our own approach to educational environments. This permitted us to effectively carry some of these elements through the remaining spaces under res- toration and renovation, unifying the new areas and the existing in terms of materials," says Coleman. Openness and transparency were important to the School District and the teachers, so Iredale intro- duced glazing from the classrooms to the corridors, extra-large glazed double doors between adjacent class- rooms, and introduced south-facing windows into the stairways to bring natural light deep into the school. As with any large complex renova- tion project, Mountainside presented several surprises to the consultant team. However, close collaboration with the School District and Unitech resulted in an approach that was able to proactively respond in a cre- ative fashion during construction. With the project now complete, the team involved and the District can be proud of such a monumen- tal achievement, and of being able to create dynamic welcoming edu- cational spaces inside an aging school shell. "We are most proud of the positive collaborative input of the entire project team. We were extremely fortunate to work with an incredible School District repre- sentative, as well as great engineers and a highly competent construc- tion manager," says Coleman. A LOCATION 3365 Mahon Avenue, North Vancouver, B.C. OWNER /DEVELOPER North Vancouver School District ARCHITECT/PRIME CONSULTANT/ BUILDING ENVELOPE PROFESSIONAL Iredale Architecture CONSTRUCTION MANAGER Unitech Construction STRUCTUR AL /MECHANICAL CONSULTANT WSP Canada Inc. ELECTRICAL CONSULTANT Integral Group L ANDSCAPE ARCHITECT PWL Partnership TOTAL COST $23.7 million by NATALIE BRUCKNER

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