Award

D E C E M B E R 2 0 2 4 | 57 Carrot River Valley School P H OTO G R A P H Y BY AO D B T A RC H I T EC T U R E + I N T ER I O R D E S I G N CARROT RIVER VALLEY SCHOOL by ROBIN BRUNET A s with any rural commu- nity, educational institutions in Saskatchewan's Carrot River (with a population of less than 1,000 people) are vitally important to youth, and the new Carrot River Valley School is a model of efficient design and development. It com- bines the community's old elementary and high schools into one building for 165 Kindergarten to Grade 12 stu- dents (secondary school on the upper level, elementary on the first level). Jeff Zenner, manager of facilities at North East School Division No. 200, says, "Our elementary school wasn't worth renovating, whereas our high school, which had been built in the 1950s, was surrounded by some spare land and had an existing gymnasium that had most recently been renovated in 2005. So, in 2020, the decision was made to keep the gym and build fresh on the spare land in collaboration with aodbt architecture + interior design." Fortunately, North East School Division had worked with aodbt on other projects. "We had developed a great working relationship," Zenner says. "They brought great ideas to the table and showed us what could and could not be done, and that relationship was exactly what we needed to develop the new school." Zenner adds, "Our familiarity with each other was also important given that the design process unfolded during the height of the COVID lock- downs: for two years, our interactions were confined to Zoom meetings." Jason Hurd, principal architect and partner with aodbt, decided early on that the design of Carrot River Valley School would centre around a student commons area, which he describes as "a double-height space with a lot of natural light acting as the heart of the building: everyone will cross paths in that space at some point. We even punched through the wall of the existing gym and added glazing for additional connectivity." Aodbt's goal was to create a clean, modern backdrop for program deliv- ery, with 21st-century learning features taking the form of flexible library space, multipurpose rooms that could open onto the commons, a variety of seating zones and infor- mal learning spaces, and plenty of natural light (clerestory glazing was developed along the full length of the commons). "We also created a second multi-purpose gym and perform- ing arts space, as well as a fairly large industrial arts area," Hurd says. The school's green and gold colours were represented in the pal- ette for the exterior cladding, along with white and grey. "We used colour to articulate entrances, a pleas- ing contrast to the darker brick used on the exterior at the main floor," Hurd says. "Additionally, since Carrot River has a rich lumber his- tory, we used a wood grain material in the gym and natural wood tim- bers along the clerestory spine." COVID-era materials costs were such that the project came in at $5.5 million over budget, and Wright Construction Western Inc. worked with North East School Division to develop alternative strategies (roof- ing and cladding systems were changed) without sacrificing qual- ity. "We brought the excess down to $2 million but had to remove the clere- story and air conditioning," Zenner says. "Fortunately, the Novak family, LOCATION 2201 2nd Street West, Carrot River, Saskatchewan OWNER /DEVELOPER North East School Division No. 200 ARCHITECT aodbt architecture + interior design GENER AL CONTR ACTOR Wright Construction Western Inc. STRUCTUR AL CONSULTANT Prakash Engineering Ltd. MECHANICAL CONSULTANT Daniels Wingerak Engineering Ltd. ELECTRICAL CONSULTANT ALFA Engineering Ltd. L ANDSCAPE ARCHITECT HTFC Planning & Design ENERGY CONSULTANT Thurston Engineering Services TOTAL SIZE 5,330 square metres TOTAL COST $28.4 million

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