wək̓ʷan̓əs tə syaqʷəm Elementary School is the Vancouver School Board’s first completed school to be constructed entirely of prefabricated CLT (cross-laminated timber) panels, a material that reduces embodied carbon and makes for a calm learning environment.
The school is part of a Vancouver School Board pilot project to assess the possibilities of mass timber for future schools and was designed by hcma architecture + design. It features bright, open spaces and learning communities that aim to encourage focus and collaboration. Other thoughtful additions include alcove and window seating that offer moments of quiet and retreat.
The school’s new hən̓q̓əmin̓əm̓ name means “the sun rising over the horizon” and was gifted by Musqueam Indian Band, who was inspired by the Hastings Sunrise neighbourhood where the school is located.
The school features tons of natural light and extensive use of wood, and the interior has a fundamental, grounded quality, which is complemented by views across the site and beyond to the city and Coast Mountains. The $22.4 million (CDN), 3,385 sq m / 36,436 sq ft. school is able to accommodate a total of 340 students and is located in a predominantly single-family residential neighbourhood in northeast Vancouver. The 3.45 acre site contains three tiers which include the existing school located on the upper tier, the new replacement school on the middle tier, and play areas are on the lower tier.
The building form aims to reflect a desire to break down the massing into easily understandable, and smaller scale learning communities. These spaces are connected by a central atrium and clearly defined circulation and the massing prioritizes integration with the local community and fits the scale of the neighbourhood.
The floor plan is compact and divides the two-storey building into four volumes and separates the school into smaller quadrants. Unlike more traditional school designs, the floor plan opens up circulation and avoids narrow hallways to create a school unified by shared spaces that encourage collaboration.
A total of three volumes accommodate the school’s four learning communities, administration, library, multipurpose rooms, and kindergarten pod, while a double height gymnasium occupies the fourth volume.
Each learning community is made up of three to four classrooms that share a central breakout space. The classrooms have full-height, folding glazed partitions that open onto the breakout spaces.
At the center of the four volumes, there is a glazed, double-height atrium that forms the social heart of the school. A feature stair including honeycomb alcove seating tucked within it leads up to the second storey and there is a connecting bridge that overlooks the gathering space below. From within the atrium, clear sight lines extend north and south to the two main entrances, west to a fern garden, and east to the lower-tier playground, which can also be reached via a slide.
A key design goal was to expose as much CLT as possible within the school. Its appearance aims to unify all the interior spaces, including classrooms, hallways, the library, multipurpose rooms, and gymnasium.
The exposed mass timber brings the outdoors inside and helps to connect students with nature. A primary structural material is Canadian mass timber, and the K-7 school is a showcase for how locally sourced engineered wood can reduce embodied carbon as well as act as a compelling design feature.
“wək̓ʷan̓əs tə syaqʷəm Elementary School is a departure from the dark, insular schools of the past. Here, we have natural light and open spaces, textural and tactile surfaces, and places for learning, collaboration, play, and quiet retreat,” said Karen Marler, principal, hcma architecture + design. “Our goal was to design a place of learning that children deserve, where they feel comfortable, inspired to collaborate, and safe to explore, where they can play loudly in the gym, or find a quiet alcove to recharge.”
The new school replaces an older school which was built in 1922 on the site, and was at high seismic risk, not universally accessible, and with building systems past their service life. It will remain in use temporarily as a “swing site” for other replacement school projects, prior to being demolished to make way for a future sports field.
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