A school for Yellowknife's francophone community incorporates a library and meeting facilities in a colourful and animated building.
August 1, 2001
by Canadian Architect
Taking its cues from a free-spirited community in Yellowknife, Guy Architects’ design for cole Allain St-Cyr French Immersion school is characterized by bold elements, bright colours and dramatic lines. The building sits adjacent to William MacDonald School and also houses a meeting place, a francophone library and Plein Soleil, a French day care centre. As such, the building will accommodate many cultural events for Yellowknife’s francophone community.
Located on a narrow site sloping downward from north to south, cole Allain St-Cyr is modelled spatially after the old cities of French Canada. Interaction in the space is fostered through an emulation of squares and narrow streets, which encourage impromptu meeting and conversation outside of the formal curriculum.
Spatial variability is a key concept in the design, emphasizing interactivity among users. This is expressed by means of devices such as a moat-and-bridge motif at the main entrance, a three-storey high grand hall and niches off the main perambulation area. Large windows on the southwest side of these common spaces, which are designed to be easily monitored by teachers in the nearby classrooms, offer views of spruce and tamarack trees, bringing the experience of the outdoors into the building. In addition, the roof has been designed to allow use as a classroom.
A roof terrace for community meetings is located adjacent the community hall on the second floor of the rotunda. The hall is supplied with natural light from the glazed clerestory wall of the raised portion of the roof. Circular raked seating is a feature of the community hall, which converts to three multi-purpose classrooms and can host theatre in the round or in a proscenium configuration.
The school uses a gravity ventilation system, the first of its kind in Canada, which introduces low velocity fresh air through large diffusers onto the floor of the rooms. Radiant heating cast into the concrete floor slabs help address the needs of children with severe allergies. NM
cole Allain St-Cyr, Yellowknife, Northwest Territories
Guy Architects
Architect team: R. Wayne Guy, Gary Smith, Constantin Tsetsos, Angela Liarikos, Willy King, Luis Groenig
Structural: A.D. Williams Engineering Inc.
Mechanical: Thorn Engineering
Electrical: A.D. Williams Engineering Inc.
Landscape: Avens Associates
Project Management: Government of the Northwest Territories, Department of Public Works
Contractor: Clark Builders
Area: 1,600 m2
Completion: Fall 1999
Budget: $4.2 million
Photography: Tim Atherton
The third floor library looms above the rotunda’s roof terraces.
1.existing school
2.cole Allain St-Cyr
3.terrace
4.main entrance
5.school play area
6.parking
1.vestibule
2.kindergarten
3.nursery school
4.entry
5.office
6.wc
7.kitchen
1.lobby
2.secondary classroom
3.study area
4.staff area
5.general office
6.entry
7.kitchen
8.multi-purpose room
9.community hall/amphitheatre
10.concrete terrace
11.mechanical room
1.lobby
2.elementary classroom
3.secondary classroom
4.general office
5.library
6.multi-purpose room
7.entry
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