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AUGUST 2016 | 65 Onoway Junior/Senior High School RENDERINGS COURTESY THE WORKUN GARRICK PARTNERSHIP ARCHITECTURE AND INTERIOR DESIGN INC. Onoway Junior/ Senior High School by ROBIN BRUNET A s with so many schools in Alberta, Onoway Junior/Senior High School had been serving the educational needs of the community for generations: in fact, since the 1960s. But by the early 2000s it was reaching the end of its useful life, and a replacement would soon be needed. Given that this was the situation with many other learning institutions around the province, it was no surprise that Onoway became part of a massive school redevelopment wave, funded by the Government of Alberta, to construct a total of 120 school projects – all in 18 months. Architect Dave MacGregor, partner with The Workun Garrick Partnership Architecture and Interior Design Inc., is grateful that the new Onoway Junior/ Senior High School was one of the first of the 120 to be commissioned. He explains: "Although the large number of projects would give a substantial boost to the lagging construction industry, we had significant concerns regarding the effects of market saturation, inflation, contractor availability and construction prices. When we started our design in March of 2014, we were glad to be ahead of the 'tsunami' and we stayed ahead of it by being ready for tender in only six months." Randy Lovich, director of facility services for Northern Gateway Public Schools, says of the initial stages of the project: "Instead of a P3 or other delivery methods, we requested that we manage the project ourselves, and in addition to securing an excellent architect we also undertook a pre- qualification process with regard to the contractors. This, in retrospect, played a vital role in the project's success." Northern Gateway Public Schools and other stakeholders required the new Onoway facility to be a Grade 7 to 12, 750 student learning centre with 78,576 square feet of total permanent space, plus four modular classrooms totaling 4,305 square feet. The project's construction cost was approximately $24 million. It is no coincidence that Workun Garrick was selected for the project. In the 1960s the company provided the design of the existing Onoway School that the new facility would replace. In 2004, the firm designed and delivered the Onoway Elementary School for the Northern Gateway School Division. Since launching its architectural services in 1953, Workun Garrick has presided over 2,500 school projects, including the majority of the school facility projects overseen by Northern Gateway, and its predecessor, Lac Ste. Anne School Division. Given this breadth of experience, Workun Garrick was able, within tight time and budget parameters, to do what its staff enjoys doing best: pushing the boundaries of design wherever possible. "Flexibility and functionality were the key objectives for this project, and within that framework we quickly focused on making the classrooms interactive," says MacGregor, "Within the four walls of the typical classroom, there is little in common with today's dynamic teaching and social media technologies. From the outset, the committee chose to explore various ways to easily convert "standard" teaching spaces into interactive spaces for student learning and interaction. To give spaces the ability to "change" allows the school to adapt, or adopt differing learning applications." The traditional learning model and teaching space was constantly questioned. Instead of creating traditional classrooms, the team designed spaces with "skyfold" walls and retractable garage doors that would allow classrooms to open or close to adjacent classrooms, to corridors, or to individualized learning (break- out) rooms. There is a large trades training component in the Onoway area. Instead of designing traditional woodworking and automotive shops, the Trades Training Lab employs a single classroom situated in the centre of a cluster of specialized labs. The solution provides shared learning opportunities and maximizes the area for the practical "hands-on" spaces. "From the outset we aimed to cater to the 'new generation' of the high school student," says MacGregor. "Laptops, interactive whiteboards and handheld devices have been added to the traditional tools of paper, pens and chalkboards. Students today expect a media-rich, hands-on and adaptive classroom experience." The school's classrooms are grouped around a central core consisting of a library, gymnasium, theatre and other public areas; each of these components are designed to enhance interaction and learning. "For example, we designed the library as a student learning common with private and public spaces, including a Starbucks-style cafe that will be managed by students [for educational credit], and offer practical business skills," says MacGregor. Each of these components are visible to one another, and facilitated by details such as a full glass wall in the gymnasium, a sunken seating pit for the theatre, cantilevered structural components, niches for student leisure and building materials selected for maximum durability: concrete, masonry brick, and phenolic panelling. Binder Construction Ltd. broke ground on the project in February of 2015. Because of site limitations, the school had to be built on Onoway's existing play zone, the intention being that demolition of the old school (which commenced in the summer of 2016) would create space for a new football field and running track, to be developed in 2017. Construction progressed without incident, and by late January the steel frame structure had been enclosed and work was well underway on the gymnasium, learning commons and other portions of the interior. Dick Ong, principal of JO Engineering Inc., describes the project as encompassing the challenges of infrastructure site work including services such as power, telephone and SuperNet. "The school has been designed to be energy efficient with LED lighting, occupancy and daylighting controls," he says. "Fortunately, many of the contractors had worked with each other in the past, so there was plenty of co-operation between the various team members. The project's success is attributed to the architect, the design team members, the builder and the subtrades who specialize in school facilities." In the past two years Workun Garrick has been busy designing or delivering approximately 25 of Alberta's new or modernized schools, but MacGregor is particularly happy with Onoway's outcome: "Completing the design work in six months may be fast, but at no stage did we compromise quality," he says. "It was a pleasure to work with dedicated educators, designers, technologists and builders." Meanwhile, Lovich and his team are preparing Onoway for a September occupancy. "Alberta Infrastructure is very interested in determining how we completed this project on time and on budget, and to me the reasons are simple," he says. "We had a great design and construction team with considerable experience in the education realm. Even the weather was on our side; we couldn't have asked for better circumstances." A LOCATION 4704 Lac Ste Anne Trail, Onoway, Alberta OWNER/DEVELOPER Northern Gateway Public Schools ARCHITECT The Workun Garrick Partnership Architecture and Interior Design Inc. GENERAL CONTRACTOR Binder Construction Ltd. STRUCTURAL CONSULTANT SPA Engineering MECHANICAL CONSULTANT KFR Engineering ELECTRICAL CONSULTANT JO Engineering Inc. TOTAL SIZE 78,576 square feet TOTAL COST $24 million

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