The Sturgeon Public School Division’s new English and French immersion school — Four Winds — serves Grade Five to Nine in Morinville’s Notre Dame community. The inclusive education system paired with inquiry-based learning offers an alternate and more collaborative approach in the classroom. The two-storey school has a permanent core area of 4,370 m2 and is designed for a capacity of 600 students, with a potential addition of 400 high school students in Phase 2. The project is targeted to attain LEED® Silver Certification.
Williams Engineering (WE) worked closely with Group2 Architecture to complete the design and is currently providing construction administration services. The mechanical team designed the fire protection systems, plumbing systems, and displacement ventilation. The design is an open-planned theme with several indoor garage doors and includes studios for dance, drama, and science labs. There is also an outdoor classroom, garden and amphitheatre. These outdoor additions were designed with the intention of connecting students with nature. Additionally, 12 modular classrooms were included in the scope of the work to supplement the core building. Furthermore, the electrical team designed the power, communications and lighting systems which include daylight harvesting for cost-effectiveness. In an effort to further minimize and control energy consumption and to provide a sustainable, efficient and functional system for the facility, consistent with LEED® criteria, the electrical system was designed to utilize energy-efficient light fixtures using LED technology, multi-level local lighting controllability, MBCS control of car park receptacle operation and parking area lighting, as well as occupancy sensor control of lighting in all washrooms and storage rooms.
Lean project delivery was utilized to increase productivity and to optimize collaboration. The design was completed using pull planning to open the lines of input from all team members and to maximize value.
The project’s schedule has taken place over the last four years. Design commenced in August of 2016, and construction began in June of 2018. The project is expected to be completed by the end of 2019.
Overall, WE’s extensive experience working with the Edmonton Public School Board and now the Sturgeon Public School Division, has established a standard of timeliness, quality, and efficiency. The value of shared knowledge and our team of experts have helped to create and deliver inspired solutions for another educational facility.
