Arcola Community School Educational Design for the Creative Age

1. Arcola Community School Educational Design for the Creative Age The illiterate of the 21st century will not be those who cannot read and write, but those who cannot learn, unlearn and relearn. - Alvin Toffler

2. Arcola Community School opening Fall 2012 • First of four new Pre-K – Eighth grade schools for the Regina Public School Board designed in association with Fielding Nair International (FNI) • Supports the RPS ‘Structural Innovation’ initiative including: flexible learning arrangements, teacher collaboration, interdisciplinary, project-based, and inquiry based teaching and learning, inclusive practice for all learners, which here includes the Visually Impaired Program

3. Project Overview • Construction of a new community school will replace the current Arcola Community School, which will be kept operational during construction • Site is shared with the City and includes a large easement through the site – the design made use of opportunity for an elongated east-west massing to take advantage of daylight and future expansion • Designed with community • involvement and many ‘Green’ features

4. Community Engagement during the Visioning Sessions held throughout the programming and conceptual design stages, in this case including presentations by FNI/P3A regarding 21st century learning • Student and Staff Involvement throughout design process • P3A and the Design Team held Sustainable Design, Architecture as a Profession, and School Design Idea sessions with grades 3-8 as part of the design process Process

5. Committee MeetingsA concept plan was developed through a committee of residents, parents, school representatives, design team and community stakeholders through numerous meeting over a series of months. Initial concepts and ideas were brainstormed about to ‘think outside the box’ and develop a plan that would be UNIQUELY SASKATCHEWAN THEMED, serve as a teaching tool, be used 4 seasons and an amenity to the whole community.

6. Community Open HouseArcola Community School, the City of Regina and P3A hosted an open house to get feedback on a future plans for the site. The plan that came out of the committee meetings was presented and the public was invited to view the plan and encouraged to give feedback on the ideas.

7. Student population is divided into 3 Personal Learning Communities, each with its own entry, flexible learning studios and shared commons and amenities at the heart. • These support the more than 20 different learning modalities including Project based learning, small group work, student presentations and independent study. Structural Innovations and 21st Century Learning

8. Entry, Admin. & Community Shared Spaces GYM Entry Lounge and Gym Nutrition Lounge Learning Entry Commons Wet/Messy Admin Staff and Prep PLC- 1 Entry Entry Lounge and Gym Elevation

9. Learning Studios Learning Studio PLC 2 Teacher Entry Collab. da Vinci Studio Learning Commons Quiet

10. Learning Modalities • Learning studios are used instead of factory production style ‘cells & bells’ traditional layout • Makes use of collaborative areas , break out areas, outdoor connection and flexibility in the spaces to open onto each other to accommodate different sizes and styles of learning. PLC 3 Open to Learning Commons Below

11. PCL-3 2nd Floor Separate PLC Entry “Visible” Mechanical Room Teacher Collaboration Wet/Messy work area View down into the gym PLC Commons area da Vinci Studio Project Terrace with south exposure and view to GREEN ROOF Green Roof

12. The stairs from PLC-3 are a “water-fall” emptying into the river below and act as perch points and seating for events and assemblies.

13. LEED & Building as 3D Textbook • On target to meet LEED Silver Certification (currently meeting LEED GOLD on paper), which reduces the long term operating costs of the building but also provides innovations to teach the students and community about sustainable practices. • Includes Daylighting and Lighting Controls, read out screens for Energy Monitoring, Green Roof & Terrace, Rain Water Cistern and Blue Stained (Beetle Killed) Pine Glulam, exposed Radiant Flooring and Living Wall.

14. Sensible Sustainability Do what makes sense and LEED points will follow! Chalkboard Wall Study/Play Nook Viewing Window for Energy Readouts

15. 4 • 2 • 1 • 3 Laminated glass sunshades on south elevation angled to suit the path of the sun Horizontal louvers in front of broad expanses of south facing glass Prairie grass green roof is a teaching tool and relates to the prairie grass in the landscape Angled eaves block high summer sun and allow low winter light deep into the school via clerestory windows

16. Building as 3D Textbook 1 2 3 4 Elevation and View of Learning Commons Living wall Pine beetle kill glulam columns and top chord of trusses Exposed structure (concrete acts as a thermal mass) Flooring, theme, represent Saskatchewan geography and geology

17. School Identity & Community Connection • School ‘Theme’ selected in collaboration with the students and school community – providing identity and sense of community • Tied in with partnership with the City of Regina and their Landscape Architect to design with shared site.

18. Personal Learning Community Identity PLC-3 Taiga PLC-1 Boreal Forest PLC-2 Woodlands PLC-3 Grasslands

19. School Identity & Community Connection Studentswere actively involved in the process and were asked what Arcola meant to them. Their words were combined with into a Wordle and are engraved into the panels at the front entrance of the school. ARCOLACOMMUNITY SCHOOL

20. Virtual Interior Tourwww.p3arch.comProject Team:James Youck, Partner In Charge Pat Kelly, Project Architect Rob Beug, Sustainable Design Coordinator Vanessa Keilback, Design Architect Sarah Turnbull, Interior Design Sherry Hastings, Lead Architectural Technologist Ashley Bull, Technologist Wade Klassen, Technologist Brian Jacobs, Technologist