Ecole Bonaventure School in Selkirk, MB, is a K-6 French Immersion School attached to Selkirk Junior High.  Current enrollment is 280 students.

The addition program was focused on the provision of a 4,000 sq. ft. gymnasium, canteen and ancillary spaces.
Three primary objectives for the project were:  1.) to expand an already relevant and engaging educational environment by adding facilities for sports, fitness, and active lifestyles;
2.) to produce a building that embodies practical, cost-effective, quantifiable, and inspiring sustainable design; and  3.) to design a gymansium that can easily be used by the community as a whole.

The existing school is comprised of a two-storey rectilinear mass, connected to a one-storey wing of built-in place, high quality relocatable classrooms (HQR), and a one-storey junior high school complex. The additional circulation space links one end of the original Ecole Bonaventure block to the open end of the HQR classrooms, creating indoor, enhanced circulation between the existing parts, and linking them both to the new gymnasium addition block.

On the school’s wish list was a desire to provide a clear main entry to the school; and entry that also served to provide an architectural identity for the school that could be seen from the street and act as the primary way-finding element.  In addition to providing a much needed clear main entrance, the extra circulation/link space serves as marshalling space, both for children leaving the school on bus trips, etc., and for for students arriving early on very cold,or rainy days.  In addition, the link serves as crush space for larger events hosted in the gym, such as school concerts etc.

The project is to achieve a minimum LEED-Silver rating, and will meet all related green building/ sustainability practices as outlined in the Province of Manitoba’s Green Building Policy.