Award

FEBRUA RY 2017 | 69 Elbow Park School PHOTOGRAPHY BY JASON DZIVER/COURTESY GIBBS GAGE ARCHITECTS Elbow Park School by LAURIE JONES W hen the 2013 flood in Calgary caused over $5 billion in damages to homes and businesses, it also affected schools in the vicinity. Elbow Park School suffered a particular loss as the original, 1929 structure was rendered uninhabitable and was scheduled to be demolished. "A good way of describing the damage is the flood broke the school's back," says Dany Breton, superintendent of facilities and environmental services at the Calgary Board of Education (CBE). "The river is very close to the school and the flood essentially caused the river to chart a new course, going right through the building and causing significant destruction." The CBE had hoped to save the whole school but that was not possible. "At the end of the day we were salvaging what we could and what was considered to be important historic elements," says Bill Evans, project manager at Duke Evans Inc. "It was challenging because a lot of hazardous material abatement had to be co-ordinated due to asbestos and lead from the old building. That took several months of work and planning before we did selected demolition, carefully keeping key features intact." Evans says the design team, which was led by Gibbs Gage Architects, was exceptional in executing the project and creating a dynamic team chemistry. "This was never a dedicated historic building, but the CBE had deemed it an important resource to the community," he says. "That's why it was so important to retain original aspects of the building." Chito Pabustan, managing director of design for Gibbs Gage says, "Initially our plans were to save three facade walls, but we were unable to follow through with that so we chose the most interesting of all facades. This structure was important for everyone in the community. Everyone loved it and it was a tragedy that it went underwater for such a long time. "We realized that we could create a sustainable building that would benefit the community and the school board, and save as much of the old building as possible. We are happy to say that we met our goals. Ultimately this is a modern school inserted into an old school, which is a win-win. Everybody got what they wanted." For the interior colours, the designers played to the users of the school – children from Kindergarten to Grade 6. "We introduced fun and delight to the eye with a lot of colour, including the floor," says Pabustan. "What appears to be a multi-coloured surface actually makes reference to where the school is located in Calgary. Blue tiles represent the two rivers going through the city, and green vinyl tiles represent the large city parks. We also included orange and green paint, with a bit of yellow." Another special part of the restoration project was the refurbishing of four original trusses from the original school's library. "The past alumni and parents spoke endearingly of the library, or as they call it, the Harry Potter room," says Pabustan. "When you walk into the room you see these old trusses that are somewhat Gothic in nature. The Gothic windows also add to the ambience of the room with lead mullions and stone carvings as frames around the windows." More treasures were saved from the original building, including a small cupola on the roof over the entrance. "We built the east and west walls to match the original dimensions including the same buttresses, window sizes, gables and peaks," says Gary Mernagh, project manager at Stuart Olson Construction. "In updating the school, and as part of the flood mitigation, the floor was raised by two feet and we put the mechanical room in a penthouse on the roof as a twist on modern building practices." Mernagh notes that the performance of the new building will be a big improvement, and a glazed curtain wall on the south of the expanded gymnasium helps get daylight into the room. "There is also an etched design of the original school in the glass wall," he says. "During the day that image is cast as a shadow on the gymnasium floor, and at night when the inside lights are on, the image can be seen on the ground outside." The exterior of the building features a red brick wall with beige brick on the bottom to match the original north facade. The building has been well received by the community, with one of the parent council members stating that the new school will heal a significant wound in the neighbourhood. Following a LEED Silver platform for the project, the library has a unique, multi-level LED lighting system. "These lights showcase the revitalized truss system in the library space and help maintain the character of the old school," says David Reid, lead designer, SMP Engineering. "We also installed occupancy sensors and daylight harvesting, and low wattage LED perimeter lighting. Gibbs Gage did an amazing job of taking the feeling of the old building and conveying it into this brand-new modern structure." Minesh Modi, principal at MMP Structural Engineering, says the biggest challenge of this project was to restore the existing facade and then make it part of the building. "This created a lot of complexity to the structure, and now it looks beautiful," he says. "Another intricate part of the building that required a lot of work was integrating the old trusses. We used these pieces in their original state to add character to the rooms." One of the biggest changes to the new structure is the displacement ventilation system, says Marcus Lockhart, project engineer at Remedy Engineering. "It's much more energy efficient and is a 100 percent outdoor system, which means there is less chance of contaminants getting into the air, creating better air quality for the students. Studies in Europe have shown that this type of system improves attention span." Integrating the new mechanical systems with the existing building was another challenge. "But we put in a high- efficiency water heater, energy recovery and did the best we could to meet the LEED requirements," says Lockhart. So as 2017 begins the new semester for students at Elbow Park School, everyone is looking forward to starting a new chapter in the history of this iconic elementary school. A LOCATION 721 38th Ave S.W., Calgary, Alberta OWNER/DEVELOPER Calgary Board of Education PROJECT MANAGER Duke Evans Inc. ARCHITECT Gibbs Gage Architects GENERAL CONTRACTOR Stuart Olson Construction Ltd. STRUCTURAL CONSULTANT MMP Structural Engineering Ltd. MECHANICAL CONSULTANT Remedy Engineering Ltd. ELECTRICAL CONSULTANT SMP Engineering CIVIL CONSULTANT Kellam Berg Engineering & Surveys Ltd. CULTURAL & HERITAGE RESOURCE MANAGEMENT Donald Luxton & Associates Inc. TOTAL SIZE 31,742 square feet TOTAL COST Undisclosed 11:20 AM 1:08 PM

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