The Calgary Catholic School District engaged S2 to execute the design and construction of a new 400 student K-6 School in a new Calgary community. The facility provides a mix of indoor and outdoor amenities for this family-oriented residential neighbourhood.
The school’s design is organized in an L-shape around the gymnasium and learning commons, for safety, connectivity and community-building. The gym is designed to perform multiple functions; namely as a gathering space for the school community at the heart of the school. The L-shaped form also enables good observation to both corridors from administration.
The CCSD has a strategy of providing continuously improving education opportunities and balancing this with long term building maintenance and operations objectives. For St. Gianna School, the design team was tasked to meet the following design considerations/goals:
- Provide a one-point supervision opportunity outside of the administration area;
- Select durable and easily maintainable finishes;
- Incorporate easily maintainable electrical and mechanical components;
- Meet or exceed all CCSD and Alberta Infrastructure objectives;
- Meet or exceed all Building Code and life safety code requirements;
- Meet or exceed LEED Silver requirements;
- Provide flexible learning opportunities;
- Provide safe egress and exit along with safe outdoor spaces;
- Meet or exceed all City of Calgary Joint Use Site requirements; and
- Meet or exceed all City of Calgary Bylaw requirements.
