Designing a flexible school for a growing community

Sage Creek K-8 School

Division scolaire franco-manitobaine (DSFM) wanted to design a school that could fit within the constraints of a small parcel of land in the growing Sage Creek neighborhood in southeast Winnipeg. They turned to our team to help.

Our design for the two-story school keeps both play and energy efficiency in mind. Colorful exterior design elements like bricks and trim bring a sense of joy and play to the structure. Once inside, the building is interconnected with a central auditorium where students and staff can easily gather. Abundant natural light beams in through the school’s south facing windows creating a bright and cozy atmosphere. Additionally, we designed many of the walls to be movable, making the space flexible for both current and future needs.

From a mechanical standpoint, our design focuses on efficiency and lowering the building’s carbon footprint. This includes a dedicated outdoor air system to lower energy demands, a dual core energy recovery ventilator to recover heat waste, and an air source heat pump to provide shoulder season heating.

The K-8 French school will accommodate 700 students and staff as well as provide 74 new childcare seats for Sage Creek’s growing population. In accordance with the City of Winnipeg’s and the Province of Manitoba’s strict standards, the school is targeting LEED Silver certification. Specifically, the building includes rainwater harvesting and electric vehicle parking and charging stalls.

Working collaboratively, our team of architects, interior designers, structural and mechanical engineers delivered the full design for this project. We also provided comprehensive electrical, civil, and transportation engineering, energy modeling, sustainability/LEED consulting and necessary environmental assessments. The school was also built in partnership with our multidisciplinary K-12 design and production teams, making it a true team effort.