Award

OCTOBER 2017 | 87 Christ the King Elementary/Junior High School & St. Thomas Aquinas School PHOTOGRAPHY COURTESY BR2 ARCHITECTURE Christ the King Elementary/Junior High School & St. Thomas Aquinas School by ROBIN BRUNET L ogistics dictate that if an influx of new schools is required to accommodate growing neighbourhoods within a specific province, the design will have to follow a precise template in order to keep a lid on costs and speed the building process. While this approach does not compromise the integrity or safety of each school, it does sacrifice individual architectural expression, and of late in Alberta, one design has served as the template for many schools, with minor modifications in cladding and different colour schemes being the only way to distinguish one building from another. Although BR2 Architecture was called upon to create one design for four new schools for Edmonton Catholic Schools District (ECSD), ECSD supervisors were grateful for the opportunity. "That's because for the first time our organizations and parent groups were allowed by the province to be part of the design process, in 2014," says Catherine Nissen, assistant superintendent facility services for ECSD. Initially the province had developed a v-shaped design and used it in some jurisdictions, "but then more new schools were announced and it was wisely decided that a single design would be too cookie-cutter – and because the province had its hands full, it assumed an assistant management role and allowed different jurisdictions to influence the architecture," says Nissen. The design team's handywork would ultimately give rise to St. Brendan Catholic Elementary/Junior High School; and then one year later St. Thomas Aquinas School; Christ the King Catholic Elementary/ Junior High; and Corpus Christi Catholic Elementary/Junior High. Initially, BR2's work was to be exclusive to St. Brendan, the original facility of which was outdated, had safety issues and was scheduled for demolition; the firm was retained by Alberta Infrastructure and Edmonton Catholic Schools as bridging consultants to assist with the design and construction of a new K to Grade 9 facility. As with all educational facilities, practicality and programming informed the architecture, and early on it was recognized as imperative that the new facility be properly oriented on the site to ensure efficient and safe bus loading, vehicular parking and pedestrian movement throughout. The design, which took three months of input from parents and teachers to flesh out, also had to expand and enhance educational program delivery, and by all counts this was achieved when St. Brendan was completed in 2016 at a cost of $19 million; Nissen credits a strong Alberta Infrastructure presence, a strong team from Clark Builders and a consistent ECSD team for "delivering a much-needed facility in the short space of a year." For the St. Thomas, Christ the King, and Corpus Christi schools, ECS and BR2 took the opportunity to improve upon their original blueprint. "The big push was for physical activity, so we designed a gymnasium as well as a flex room that could double as a second gym," says Nissen. To which Derek Sampson, technical manager for BR2, adds, "21st-Century Learning concept and the ability to bring natural light and transparency into the core of the building was vital, and we achieved this fairly simply by using full height glass partitions rather than masonry that was in the previous design. In addition, multipurpose student space, learning commons, flex space and breakout areas enhanced the 21st-Century Learning concepts." Natural wood esthetic would be prevalent throughout the interior and perfectly complemented a two-storey living wall located in the commons area. The living wall represents the connection to the environment and the emphasis on sustainability at the schools. All four of these new Edmonton Catholic Schools are to be LEED Silver certified, which St. Brendan has received. Maintenance priorities and cost management dictated a careful selection of materials. "For example, we decided on polished concrete floors in most areas but cork for the music rooms and rubber flooring for the offices, which has the advantage of being more sustainable than conventional vinyl tile," says Sampson. According to Nissan, "Cork also has acoustic benefits, and both materials are easily maintained by scrubbing with water." As for the exterior, Nissan says, "We opted for many different finishes, deliberately, for visual interest; this translated into metal, brick, stone and wood. Input from the parent group and ECSD staff also led us to provide an outdoor classroom on the second level." As far as Nissen is concerned, the visual highlight of Corpus Christi, St. Thomas, and Christ the King is a stained-glass cross on a two-storey-high window; each matches the exterior cladding colours – St. Thomas colour is gold, so its cross is gold, and accordingly the Christ the King cross is purple, Corpus Christi, Green. These colours become incredibly enhanced with the natural morning and evening light. Graham was charged with constructing both schools in 2016 (Jen-Col Construction was the general contractor for Corpus Christi), and apart from challenges associated with obtaining permits and an unusually wet summer, the buildings rapidly took form under a project management delivery system. "Graham was terrific and contributed greatly to the team environment that had been established in 2014," says Sampson. Douglas Walters Landscape Architect Ltd. developed the sites of the schools to ensure that clear site lines were established between play and pedestrian areas as well as motor vehicle zones. Although creating four new schools from the ground up in about three years is fast track by any standards, Nissen and her ECSD colleagues are thrilled with the outcome. "Everyone operated at the top of their game and there were absolutely no big issues, which is rare," she says. "We're proud of our new schools: they'll be serving students for decades to come." A LOCATION 420 Desrochers Blvd SW, Edmonton, Alberta (St. Thomas} 180 McConachie Dr. SW, Edmonton, Alberta (Christ the King) 9260 58 St. NW, Edmonton, Alberta (St. Brendan) 460 Watt Boulevard SW, Edmonton, Alberta (Corpus Christi) OWNER/DEVELOPER Edmonton Catholic Schools ARCHITECT BR2 Architecture GENERAL CONTRACTORS Graham Construction & Engineering Inc. (St. Thomas and Christ the King) Jen-Col Construction (Corpus Christi) Clark Builders (St. Brendan) STRUCTURAL CONSULTANT Protostatix Engineering Consultants MECHANICAL/ ELECTRICAL CONSULTANT MCW/AGE Consulting Professional Engineers CIVIL CONSULTANT Arrow Engineering Inc. LANDSCAPE ARCHITECT Douglas Walters Landscape Architect Ltd. TOTAL SIZE 6,969 square metres (for each school) TOTAL COST $38 million (St. Thomas and Christ the King)

• Cover