Issue link: http://digital.canadawide.com/i/687429
J UNE 2016 | 83 St. Augustine School PHOTOGRAPHY BY MICHAEL ELKAN/COURTESY ACTON OSTRY ARCHITECTS INC. by JESSICA KIRBY St. Augustine School S t. Augustine School is a tribute to the Catholic faith, its Parish Church and the commitment and effort of a remarkable team. Completed last year, phase one features 10 classrooms, a learning commons, multi-purpose areas, child care and outdoor play areas. Phase two will include five more classrooms, and phase three a new gymnasium, music room and underground parking. The original school was founded more than 100 years ago as a domed, three-storey brick building located in the Kitsilano neighbourhood of Vancouver, B.C. After the building's demolition in 1951, a meant-to-be-temporary, one-storey, wood-framed building took its place. St. Augustine Parish's vision for the current project was born more than 16 years ago when the existing school was neither repairable nor replaceable. With a desire to see Catholic education endure for the parish, the school's Building Committee members set their sights on creating something beautiful for the students of today and the future. "We wanted to provide many more opportunities that more authentically reflect the current and future needs of our parents for their children," says St. Augustine School principal Catherine Oberndorf. "We wanted to ensure we could potentially grow to a double-streamed school and a tight template and limited resources posed many challenges for us." The school's wish list was ambitious: 16 classrooms, a learning commons space, great daylight, even heat distribution, open and welcoming entrance and hospitality, a multipurpose room, music room and great storage, and hallway learning niches for students to use throughout the day. Oberndorf says working with the city and within a tight building space, meeting the Parish Church's goals and resources, and working within the Archdiocesan rules and guidelines were just a few of the project's challenges. The project is also 100 per cent donor funded, making fundraising a hefty achievement." The concrete building with interior steel studs is typical in its basic construction, but its exterior cladding – brick veneer in seven patterns and four shades of red – stands out as unique in the city of Vancouver. "The Building Committee wanted to make sure it was not an imposing building," says Russell Acton, principal at Acton Ostry Architects. "The new school, clad with a playful red- brick masonry collage, provides a symbolic link to St. Augustine's Church and Parish, located one block to the east, and pays homage to the original church and school building that once occupied the site. "Buff-brick cruciforms modestly mark the building as a Catholic institution while the red brick walls delineate and anchor the school to the site." Acton says the masonry finish is inspired by the work of Alvar Aalto and a children's flip book, and the desire to create a whimsical expression. "Window openings are detailed as deep, incised cuts that feature traditional brick sills and dramatic brick-faced sloping sills," he says. "It turned out beyond everyone's wildest expectations. It is very playful and gives a unique identity to the school." The real hero was the mason, he continues: "He had the challenge of building a design I haven't seen anywhere else in the city. He was fast and accurate and brought a level of craftsmanship to the project that you just don't see every day." Nick Vukelic, principal with Alegra Masonry Inc. says it is unusual to see buildings designed with such intricate brickwork patterns. "Once in a while you find a project with a curveball design that includes one or two patterns, but seven is something you don't see a lot of." With four colours and patterns that included a basket weave, stack bond, Flemish and English soldier courses, and others, it was crucial that the crew stayed focused, says Vukelic. "Everyone had to keep a clear head and ensure we didn't mix the patterns, which were all done in square grids along the wall," he adds. "It was crucial we did it correctly from the beginning because we came in late in the game and had only three weeks to mobilize and be ready to start." The building's symbolism is beautifully subtle and meaningful at the same time. "The main entrance and child care feature folding steel canopies that are supported on slender cruciform columns," says Acton. "The folded planes reference the form of a nun's habit – the top clad in dark standing seam metal and the underside finished with dazzling white stucco." Interior finishes include golden- hued maple panelling and light blue flooring inspired from a painting of Mary crushing a serpent. Two glazed, south-facing towers feature vivid green stairs snaking to the outside and upon which the children symbolically stomp the serpent as they rush out to play. Blue coloured glazing symbolizes Mary and recalls the stained glass at St. Augustine Church and identifies three key components: the main entrance to the school, a breezeway that acts as a gateway to the school grounds and a tall towering window located at the corner of the site that symbolically links St. Augustine School to the neighbouring St. Augustine's Church and Parish. Westbourne Projects, project manager on the job, took over in 2015 and principal Nick Maile says this symbolism and the warm interior finishes help carry on the spirit and sense of community the school has carried over the years. "The old building was well worn and well loved, but definitely at the end of its capacity," he says. "It had a lot of character, spirit and warmth that has been successfully transferred. It is dense in design, which gives it an intimate feeling, and widely used wood panelling brings colour, warmth and light to the school." Electrical consultants MMM Group designed the project's electrical system to meet the requirements of modern educational facilities with comfortable lighting, plenty of receptacles for today's electronic devices as well as abundant communication outlets for data, and telephone and WiFi connections. Suspended linear light fixtures with switching allow for flexible light levels and the team also implemented opportunities to take advantage of natural light in the educational spaces. Andrew Tashiro, senior project manager for MMM Group says the lighting systems are designed with energy efficiency in mind. "They utilize modern technology and occupancy sensors throughout to reduce energy consumption," he says. "Switching was provided to allow for flexible light levels and only utilizing the lights as required, and long-life lighting technologies were selected to reduce waste due to re-lamping." Because the existing school had to remain open during construction, each consultant had to phase its scope of work. "The classroom block was constructed first right up against the existing gymnasium," says Tashiro. "The future gymnasium block was designed along with the classroom block but in a way to allow for the classroom block to be constructed first. "The classroom block also had to have electrical systems with capacity and expansion capability for a future fit out. There is a separate daycare program with separate metering, entry, telephone and security requirements. All these were handled through thoughtful design." "We are delighted with what our community has been able to create," adds Maile. "And we are very proud of the Building Committee and all the volunteers that guided all aspects of our project for the past 15 years." A LOCATION 2154 West 7th Avenue, Vancouver, B.C. OWNER/DEVELOPER Roman Catholic Archbishop of Vancouver (St. Augustine's Parish) PROJECT MANAGER Westbourne Projects Limited ARCHITECT Acton Ostry Architects Inc. GENERAL CONTRACTOR Yellowridge Construction Ltd. STRUCTURAL CONSULTANT WHM Structural Engineers MECHANICAL CONSULTANT Integral Group ELECTRICAL CONSULTANT MMM Group LANDSCAPE ARCHITECT Durante Kreuk Ltd. MASONRY CONSULTANT Alegra Masonry Inc. TOTAL SIZE 30,000 square feet TOTAL COST $10.4 million 12:16 PM