River Valley School

Sundre, Alberta, CanadaElementary School (K-8)

New Construction / AdditionGroup2 Architecture Engineering Ltd.

2008 Exhibition of School Planning and Architecture

River Valley School

River Valley School – main exterior

Introduction: This project began as a modernization initiated as a result of a mold outbreak. This created an atmosphere of extreme mistrust and concern in the community.

Student ArtPlanning Process:

In response, the planning process was completed as a community activity. The process focused on dealing with the safety concerns and reshaping education in the community.

Community developed artwork project relating the “learning neighbourhood”

Main EntryPlanning Process continued:

Visioning sessions, design charrettes, and community forums were open and held with teachers, parents, community leaders and government representatives. The “learning neighbourhood” was conceived as a place of support to the students and community creating global connections through learning.

River Valley School - main entry and parent drop off area

Community Library

Community Environment:

The greater “learning neighbourhood” included vibrant new shared facilities for the community. Portions of the existing school were redeveloped to provide a new home for the community library, a shared community gymnasium, recreation and arts facility.

Community library and learning resource centre

Community Centre

Community Environment continued:

The community playschool along with offices for Neighbourhood Place – a community support agency – were also created.

Entry to the greater “learning neighbourhood” community

Student Gathering AreaLearning Environment:

In the school itself, three distinct “learning neighbourhoods” serve the student population. Each neighbourhood has a theme providing an identity for the neighbourhood and connecting it to the curriculum. The three neighbourhoods are Water, Plants, and Earth. The Water neighbourhood focuses on major river systems including the Amazon, Nile, Saint Lawrence, and the local Red Deer River. The relative sizes of the systems are depicted in the flooring patterns in the hallway and information about the systems is incorporated into signage and displays in this neighbourhood.

Student gathering in earth neighbourhood

Learning NeighbourhoodsLearning Environment continued:

The Plant neighbourhood focuses on the major types of plants both locally and across the globe with flooring patterns relating to the numbers of species of each type of plant classification. The Earth neighbourhood focuses on a scaled representation of our solar system. Signage and displays on the walls highlight various information about the planets including the number of moons, length of the year, and length of day for each planet.

“Learning Neighbourhoods” - earth, plants, and water

Exposed Building Systems

Learning Environment continued:

Each neighbourhood incorporates experiential lessons relating local information globally to develop the student’s understanding of their environment, context of the globe and even the universe. Innovative lessons reveal the relationships of the neighbourhoods and allow students to research and discover the systems that connect us all.

Exposed building systems create an instructional opportunity

School GymnasiumPhysical Environment:

The school is a teaching tool layered with lessons and discoveries. The gym’s acoustic block provides a dramatic representation of 100 years of local population growth.

School gym – 100 years of provincial population growth represented in acoustic blocks

Open Project SpacePhysical Environment continued:

The facility incorporates various sustainable elements such as heat recovery technology that become further opportunities for learning as many of the systems are exposed and a weather station allows research on the performance of the built environment. Open project spaces and several smaller breakout rooms support differentiated project instructing for each “learning neighbourhood.”

Earth “learning neighbourhood” open project space

Exhibition of School Planning and Architecture 2008 Project Data

Submitting Firm : Group2 Architecture Engineering Ltd.Project Role Prime ConsultantProject Contact Craig WebberTitle Principal, ArchitectAddress 200, 4706 48th AvenueCity, State or Province, Country Red Deer, Alberta, Canada T4N 6J4Phone (403) 340-2200Submitting Firm: Group2 Architecture Engineering Ltd.Project Role Structural EngineeringProject Contact Pat RomermanTitle Principal, Structural EngineerAddress 200, 4706 48th AvenueCity, State or Province, Country Red Deer, Alberta, Canada T4N 6J4Phone (403) 340-2200Other Firm: Wiebe Forest Engineering Ltd.Project Role Mechanical Engineering Project Contact Jeff Swart / Nolan LambTitle Mechanical EngineersAddress 3613 33rd Street N.W.City, State or Province, Country Calgary, Alberta, Canada T2L 2A7Phone (403) 670-7300

Other Firm Wiebe Forest Engineering Ltd.Project Role Electrical EngineeringProject Contact Livio BaroneTitle Electrical EngineerAddress 3613 33rd Street N.W.City, State or Province, Country Calgary, Alberta, Canada T2L 2A7Phone (403) 670-7300

Construction Firm: Shunda Consulting & Construction Management Ltd.Project Role General ContractorProject Contact Dave DesharnaisTitle Project AdministratorAddress 6204 - 46th AvenueCity, State or Province, Country Red Deer, Alberta, Canada T4N 7A2Phone (403) 347-6931

Exhibition of School Planning and Architecture 2008 Project Details

Project Name   River Valley School

City Sundre

State Alberta, Canada

District Name Chinooks Edge School Division

Supt/President   Jim Gibbons

Occupancy Date September 1, 2006

Grades Housed   K-8

 

Capacity(Students)   750

Site Size (acres)   5.66 acres (2.29 ha)

Gross Area (sq. ft.) 6,354 sq. ft. (3,664 addition, 2,690 renovation)

Per Occupant(pupil) 91 sq. ft. / student gross (8347 sq. m. / student gross)

gross/net please indicate  

 

Design and Build?   Yes

If yes, Total Cost: $8,051,939.38

Includes: Total construction costs

 

If no,  

Site Development:  

Building Construction:  

Fixed Equipment:  

Other:  

 

Total:  

Supporting Images

Exterior of the student gathering area

School library and resource centre

Supporting Images

Details of solar system

discovery tool

Supporting Images

Plant “learning neighbourhood” open project space

Supporting Images

School 3D artwork relating to earth and the global community

Supporting Images

Kindergarten learning area