This 40-year-old academic school, located in a suburban area, draws students from all over the city of Grande Prairie. Bursting at the seams due to enrollment pressures, the school board approved an addition and modernization.
Upon award of the project, we realized that our commission encompassed a diversity of other criteria, ranging from accommodation of allergies at a microscopic scale, through to the alleviation of traffic congestion at an urban scale.
A series of workshops was held for students, parents, teachers, community residents and planning officials to scope out the full extent of issues affecting this school. As the workshops progressed, the design team ran with and interpreted suggestions from all sources, building alignment where there previously was animosity.
The end result is a school that has received enthusiastic buy-in from many, many participants, re-establishing this school's pre-eminent position in the community.
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