Our Lady of Mount Carmel School
2003
The OLMC 2003 $4 mil project scope began with the addition of 6 Classrooms with a Resource Room. The design intent by the architect was to condense the building rather than elongate it into the play yard utilizing the space on the south side of the existing building to evolve a single sided corridor addition squeezed in between the edge of the site with the notion of making this building as energy efficient as possible within the allocated standard budget. During this process the Front Addition was added to the project with the replacement of the original Administration portion with 4 classrooms. Window renovations, additional parent parking, bus access, and the Gymnasium expansion were also added with the total project $65,000 under budget. It’s success prompted the 2006 additions adding 4 classrooms at the end of the previous South Addition enclosing the rear courtyard as well as adding the Daycare Centre off the existing north wing. This later development was $25,000 under budget.
The innovative sustainable/green approach maintained that the design be compact and impact the site minimally while formulating playful courtyard spaces between the new and existing areas with well used interior benches on the single sided corridors. The design provided daylight harvesting with the unique sloped classroom form with 3 phased light shut downs and occupancy sensors, in-floor radiant heating and exposed ducted cooled air from above for natural low velocity convection, a highly insulated thermally broken exterior skin and fibreglass windows with sun shades to existing and new large overhangs to contribute to energy savings. Future layout flexibility is achieved through post and beam construction with the steel structure and slope metal roofs able to be recycled. The project also started the first green roof for a local school and spared many existing and relocated trees while providing an entirely new image for the site. The building area was increased by 19,000 sf with one of the existing 3 boilers able to be decommissioned. Energy savings amounted to over $17,000 annually.