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90 | OCTOBER 2017 Bowness High School Modernization PHOTOGRAPHY COURTESY CALGARY BOARD OF EDUCATION Bowness High School Modernization by ZUZANNA WODZYNSKA O ver the past year, students and staff of Bowness High School have been enjoying their newly upgraded facilities. Originally built in the 1950s in what is now the northwestern corner of Calgary, Alberta, part of the school was demolished and rebuilt in the spring of 2015. The remainder of the existing building was refreshed to match the newly built addition and ensure current code requirements were met. "Bowness High School is at the heart of the community and its revitalization serves to strengthen the role it plays within the student body and neighbourhood," says Stephen Bugbee, who led the architectural design team for the project from Zeidler Architecture. "The original school was an extremely well-built building with durable materials and systems that have stood the test of time for over half a century." An upgrade was needed, however, to ensure that students in the community would continue to receive a high standard of modern education. "From an educational point of view, the renovation and modernization concept was to revitalize the school with exciting new Career and Technology Study [CTS] programming," says Bugbee. Some of these CTS elements that needed up-to-date classrooms included a culinary arts lab with a commercial- quality kitchen facility. "It uses a state-of-the-art mechanical system that includes a Halton variable flow infrared heat sensing exhaust system with automated control," notes Jeff Hill, partner at Remedy Engineering. "This system provides a high-end, professional quality experience for students while maximizing energy efficiency." Meanwhile, the new cosmetology teaching lab features commercial- style plumbing fixtures and ventilation systems unique to a high school environment. A new robotics lab, fashion lab, foods lab, and new dance, art and fitness rooms were also part of the upgrade. For the project, 2,400-square-metres of the wood-frame school building and connecting internal courtyard were demolished and replaced with a new, two-storey 3,930-square-metre addition. The focal point is the new main entry, designed to establish a presence on the street, while respecting the surrounding community and its history. The two-storey glass facade features a roof element overhang that extends from the rest of the school and is accentuated by asymmetrical, diagonally placed yellow columns. "The street facade is a strong, confident urban statement that is bold, fresh and youthful," notes Bugbee. "School should be an enjoyable experience; one that allows all individuals to find their interests, start to shape and develop their futures, and enjoy the process of education. The architecture of the school should play an important role in starting this process." Behind the new main entry, the existing school and new addition have been linked by a dynamic central atrium. "One of the most important elements that expresses the sense of interconnectivity is the use of natural light that is filtered through the glazed atrium into all adjacent spaces," says Bugbee. It serves as both a welcoming entrance and a new gathering place designed to celebrate and invigorate its student population with a renewed sense of pride in both their education and their community. "The atrium student gathering space is meant to be the heart of the new school spirit, its design synonymous with the quality of education within its walls," comments Bugbee. "It wraps the new CTS wing, and the entire volume is interactive and expressive with numerous windows, openings and seating areas that take advantage of the full spatial relationship the great room has with its adjacencies." In the remaining section of the original school, new sprinklers and communications systems were installed, as well as new ceilings in all the corridors. "The sprinkler upgrade works within the existing school were co-ordinated with school principals to allow a zone-by-zone completion after school hours, on weekends, and during public holidays and other school closures such as the summer holidays," notes Dan Matthews, project manager from Colliers Project Leaders who led the project on behalf of the Calgary Board of Education (CBE). These efforts required a constant review of safety since they were taking place within areas of the school that were in use during normal school hours. "Our crews had to ensure no traces of the work were left by the end of the shift so students' education could remain as normal as possible the next day," adds Hazem Abdelnaiem, project manager from Chandos Construction Ltd. All of the consultant teams stressed both the challenge and the importance of minimizing disruption to students and staff who continued to use the facilities throughout construction. "Everyone from the design and construction teams to the school principals and staff were cohesive in our collective focus for the project's success," comments Matthews. "At completion, this was most evident by the satisfaction exhibited by Bowness High School staff, the CBE and the public." One of the most critical design and technical challenges was the interface between the existing and new building construction. "From a design point of view, the harmonious blending of the two forms is obvious to see," notes Bugbee. "From the technical side, it was an explore and discover process from the start to finish as there were limited as-built drawings for the existing building's exterior envelope to assist the architectural team." These critical issues lay hidden from sight within the envelope, but their performance was absolutely critical for the building in Calgary's harsh climate conditions. "John Vlooswyk from BEEI worked on-site throughout construction to assure that the integrity of the building envelope from new to existing was fully integrated and co-ordinated effectively," adds Bugbee. The end result was a fully functional building envelope ready to start performing for another half century. "Another challenge was incorporating several added scopes within the same time frame to provide more services to the students," says Abdelnaiem. "The services included a top of the line kitchen for their culinary classes and the new robotics lab." These were among the assessed list of priorities for the upgrade due to budgeting concerns, but all of the programming choices that were asked for by the students were accommodated. There is also a limited amount of additional space that will not be immediately used. "About 8.5 percent of the renovation will be completed at a later date when funding is available and there is need in the school," said Jana Macdonald, Bowness High School principal, in a letter to students' parents last year. "This will offer our school flexibility to adjust to future growth and program popularity." A LOCATION 4627 77 Street NW, Calgary, Alberta OWNER/DEVELOPER Calgary Board of Education PROJECT MANAGER Colliers Project Leaders ARCHITECT Zeidler Architecture GENERAL CONTRACTOR Chandos Construction Ltd. STRUCTURAL CONSULTANT TRL & Associates Ltd. MECHANICAL CONSULTANT Remedy Engineering ELECTRICAL CONSULTANT SMP Engineering TOTAL SIZE 18,330 square metres (school) 3,930 square metres (construction area) TOTAL COST $18 million FM35506.indd FM35541.indd

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