Issue link: http://digital.canadawide.com/i/177297
Westview Elementary School 12-10-11 11:19 AM 12-10-19 2:19 PM courtesy school district #47 by Heidi Castle estview Elementary School in Powell River, on B.C.'s Sunshine Coast, is aptly named. It faces west, sitting high in the city's Westview neighbourhood, taking advantage of a 180-degree, postcard-perfect view beyond Malaspina Straight, across the open waters of Georgia Strait to the forested silhouette of Vancouver Island's mountainous spine. Home to Western Canada's first, and at one point world's largest, pulp and paper mill, Powell River was built on the forestry industry. While the provincial government, through B.C.'s Wood First Act, mandates the use of wood as the primary construction material in new publicly funded projects, given Powell River's history, it is fitting Westview Elementary features B.C. wood product. Built to LEED Gold standard, wood speaks to the design's best practices for sustainability in the state-of-art school. "Wood is showcased most dramatically in the glue-laminated columns and beams that are featured at the entrance facade, library and student commons," says Gregg Brown, principal KMBR Architects Planners Inc. Exposed glulam beams span the high spaces in the entry and in the raised roof section of the two-storey classroom block. The block contains 16 classrooms and the media centre – the library and computer lab combined. These flow east from the main entry and commons area which act as the radial centre of the building's L-shaped design. In the other direction sit special education, parent committee and community meeting rooms with kitchens, patio and overheight ceilings, as well as multi-purpose spaces for band and choir. A fully accessible, secondary school-size gym with retractable stage, bleachers, change rooms and showers is capable of hosting wheelchair athletic and sports events. An outdoor classroom sits outside the media centre with amphitheatre-style seating that backs into a grove of trees. W Westview Elementary School p60-61WestviewElementary.indd 61 A Neighbourhood Learning Centre is central to the project, creating a community hub that offers programs and services during and after school hours for children up to age five and their parents. Wood finishes are used extensively in all these spaces including the gymnasium floor, wall-protection panels, acoustic panels, interior doors, cabinetry and shelving. While the design takes advantage of Powell River's ample sunshine, it made sense to use an air-to-water heat source system over a geo-exchange system, says Richard Corra, principal, Rocky Point Engineering. "Powell River's temperate climate is good for this type of application," says Corra. "An air source heat pump has a significantly lower capital cost with nearly the same heating energy efficiency and performance, while remaining easier to maintain." "Given Powell River's remote location, it was very important that the mechanical and plumbing systems be simple to operate and maintain for both the users and local school district maintenance staff," says Corra. "We chose a simple displacement ventilation system with distributed unit ventilators and perimeter heating allowing each classrom space to operate independently." Other LEED Gold features include the use of low- or zero-emitting materials, reduced light pollution to neighbouring properties, secure covered bicycle storage, light-coloured surface finishes for heat reflection, the use of regional materials to support local industry with the benefit of a reduced carbon footprint incurred by transportation and the use of steel and concrete structural materials with recycled content. The school's L shape and site location, within the southwest section of a relatively flat 25,000-square-metre rectangular property, optimize daylight and ocean views without impeding sight lines of the neighbouring Vancouver Island University. VIU occupies the former Gordon Park Elementary School building behind Westview Elementary. The Westview site housed Gordon Park's track and play field area and a 400-metre rubber-asphalt running track actively used by the Powell River Track and Field Club and recreational users. Competition track and field use is now met at nearby Brooks Secondary School with its new all-weather field and track. Community recreational users enjoy a three-metre-wide walking and fitness track with exercise stations that winds around the property perimeter. In terms of landscape architecture, the site proved fairly straightforward, says Rod Maruyama, president of Maruyama & Associates. The three-toone sloped embankment along the site's western edge has allowed for the inclusion of a community trail. The large, wide, terraced concrete stairway at the main entry has "created a softened esthetic appeal," says Maruyama. With the exception of sod brought from the Lower Mainland, landscape materials were local or recycled from the site, says Maruyama. Topsoil from the previous playfield was stripped, screened and salvaged for re-use in the new playfield and planting beds. Westview Elementary replaces nearby Grief Point Elementary as part of the province's seismic mitigation program. "This has been a very positive experience for the school board and the community," says Steve Hopkins, secretary-treasurer of the Powell River Board of Education. "The design-build process has gone very well. Once we got the design pinned down, things went smoothly. With this type of fixed control and low risk you get the best bang for the buck with the money you have." "I think we nailed the right design concept early in the RFP process, and the concept resonated with the School Distict from the get-go," says Brown. "Scheduling is almost always a challenge with fast-tracked design-build projects and this was no exception. Stakeholder input was meaningful and timely during the RFP stage and helped us zero in on the best design solution." Working in a remote community is not without challenges. Vehicle access to Powell River is ferry dependent and the city is a two ferry trip out of the Lower Mainland, approximately 175 kilometres south. Material costs are higher and deliveries more difficult, says Aaron Toews, project manager, Yellowridge Construction Ltd. "We researched barging some larger loads but ended up using the ferries for all deliveries." However, at one point during construction, ferry service shut down. "This affected our structural steel schedule. Trucks were sent home numerous times and workers were forced to wait." On the upside, there was an abundance of available labour and housing for out-of-town workers in Powell River, according to Toews. "Communication between owners and reps has been great throughout and helped to make this project a success," he says. ■ LOCATION 3900 Selkirk Avenue Powell River, B.C. OWNER/DEVELOPER School District No. 47 Powell River PROJECT MANAGER Trillium Infrastructure Solutions Inc. DESIGN-BUILD CONTRACTOR Yellowridge Construction Ltd. ARCHITECT KMBR Architects Planners Inc. STRUCTURAL CONSULTANT CWMM Consulting Engineers Ltd. MECHANICAL CONSULTANT Rocky Point Engineering Ltd. ELECTRICAL CONSULTANT Jarvis Engineering Ltd. ARCHITECTURAL ADVISOR Owen & Hunter Architects LANDSCAPE ARCHITECT Maruyama & Associates TOTAL AREA 46,600 square feet (building) 269,000 square feet (site) TOTAL CONSTRUCTION COST $14 million december 2012 /61 11/16/12 3:32 PM