Issue link: http://digital.canadawide.com/i/755184
DECEMBER 2016 | 79 General Gordon Elementary School PHOTOGRAPHY + RENDERINGS COURTESY DA ARCHITECTS + PLANNERS General Gordon Elementary School by ROBIN BRUNET T he decision to demolish a building of historical significance is always excruciating to make, especially if it's a facility such as the original two- storey General Gordon Elementary School in Vancouver's Kitsilano neighbourhood; a facility that had been attended by generations of locals since first opening in 1912. But the old masonry school house had not only reached the end of its useful life, it was structurally unsound and renovating to meet seismic standards would have been cost prohibitive and problematic. A new school designed by DA Architects + Planners and constructed by Heatherbrae Builders Co. Ltd. was determined to be the most sensible alternative; but first, the Vancouver School Board (VSB) had to overcome considerable neighbourhood resistance. Jay Hiscox, manager, operations and planning for VSB's Vancouver project office, recalls, "Towards the end of 2011 and into 2012 we engaged in extensive community consultation and explained in great detail why the original building couldn't be saved, plus so much had been added onto it over the years that its true heritage status was questionable. "The main consideration in creating a new facility was keeping the school children on site safely rather than relocating them elsewhere. But this was a problem, as the existing school sat on a very limited footprint." The solution was to house the children in other buildings on the far site of the school lot. DA Architects + Planners partner Mark Ehman says, "That was a great move, as the builder would need as much free room as possible to work on this confined site, and the kids would be perfectly safe and could resume their education undisturbed." The new General Gordon Elementary School would accommodate 400 elementary plus 40 kindergarten students; a preschool housed in an outbuilding would be incorporated, as well as a 60-child, out-of- school child care program. "Form very much dictated design in that the site size should have been double to accommodate what the program called for according to education ministry standards," says Ehman. Hiscox adds: "So we agreed upon a three-storey structure with a mechanical penthouse, even though most elementary schools in Vancouver are one or two storeys. Steel construction was employed, and this meant fabrication was quick and could be performed offsite, which helped free up construction space." Also, to maximize foot traffic and green areas, zoning for 24 parking spaces was eventually downsized to 12 spaces. Since public schools are increasingly made open to community events, the ground level of General Gordon Elementary School was designed to contain a gym, library and kitchen as well as a central gathering/meeting area and music/flex room – capped by a multipurpose room located prominently adjacent to the main entrance (this space would eventually be augmented by an outdoor patio). "These spaces are oriented towards the public street, which is an inversion of the traditional school layout where classrooms face out," says Ehman. "Of course, bringing as much natural light into the building as possible was another basic objective, not just for energy efficiency, but for an improved learning environment and to visually open out to the surrounding neighbourhood." The upper two levels were designed following 21st-century learning principles, whereby instead of individual classrooms and corridors, the learning areas flow into one another. "On each level, we designed four classroom clusters surrounded by a central commons area," says Ehman. All spaces have access to extensive natural daylighting. For heritage purists who still lamented the demise of the 1912 school, the architects and Heatherbrae Builders Co. Ltd. saved as much original material as possible for incorporation into the new project to honour the past. The landscape architect Jonathan Losee proposed to integrate this heritage material into the landscape. "Following Jon's guidance, Heatherbrae used salvage elements such as face brick to create a feature retaining wall, and granite from the 1912 building was transformed into a series of stone steps comprising a heritage corner, which functions as a welcome access from the sidewalk," says Hiscox. Another nod to the past was the new building's colour scheme. "Its masonry cladding mimics that of the old building," says Hiscox. "The positioning of the facility is also similar to that of the original." Heatherbrae was tasked with carrying out work that would live up to General Gordon Elementary School being designed to LEED Gold standards. With the assistance of WSP/MMM Group, this included the installation of solar shading, energy efficient lighting and building systems, integrated controls and electric vehicle charging stations, along with construction measures such as waste diversion in addition to the use of salvaged heritage elements. Despite General Gordon Elementary School's multiple storeys, its visual impact along West 6th Avenue is mitigated by the placement of a single-storey wing; additionally, porch-like canopies and overhangs with linear bench forms define the en trance. The three-storey portion of the school is a simple volume extending east and west, and the single-storey spaces (which are more public in nature), are varied in height according to their ceiling requirements; this allows the profile of the west, north and east facades to be modulated and more expressive of their functions. D espite initial community resistance, Hiscox reports that early feedback from parents whose children are attending the newly finished General Gordon Elementary School is enthusiastic. "This is a classic case in which extensive community consultation along with careful design and efficient construction has paid off spectacularly," he says. "We're very proud of the final result." A LOCATION 2268 Bayswater Street, Vancouver, B.C. OWNER/DEVELOPER Vancouver School Board ARCHITECT DA Architects + Planners DESIGN-BUILD CONTRACTOR Heatherbrae Builders Co. Ltd. STRUCTURAL CONSULTANT Equilibrium Consulting MECHANICAL/ ELECTRICAL CONSULTANT WSP/MMM Group CIVIL CONSULTANT Aplin & Martin Consultants Ltd. LANDSCAPE ARCHITECT Jonathan Losee Ltd. Landscape Architecture TOTAL SIZE 47,361 square feet TOTAL COST $14.7 million