Located on a site that has a shared boarder to the regional park and regional pathways this school will be well served by the growing community around it, the school design utilized the prairie landscape and arrangement of the program as conceptual drivers for the project. The projects materiality and scale were designed in response to the surrounding community of residential homes and vast prairie lands.
The form of the school uses the central gathering flex space as a defining element in the design. This “wedge” brings natural light deep into the core of the school – joining all the elements and students together. The natural lighting of the central space and learning commons were paramount in the design to inspire students and staff during the long winter days of a school year.
The east facing colored glass is an abstract representation of the Catholic religion while responding by filling the hallways with colour as the students arrive in the morning light. The warm tones of the wood cladding and multi-coloured abstract colour interpretation of the prairie landscape on the exterior greet the community. Inside the school is complimented with additional wood elements of the wrap around room and wood beams of the vaulted wedge form above. The school was designed to accommodate a core population of 550 students with a total capacity of 950 when fully built out with portables.