St. Mary’s Replacement School
Sexsmith, Alberta

In 2008, Barr Ryder Architects was retained by Alberta Infrastructure and the Grande Prairie & District Catholic Schools to design a K-12 core school. The proposed school will have an opening capacity of 260 students with four relocatable classrooms, and a full capacity of 335 students and a total of seven relocatables.

The Barr Ryder Team and their sub-consultants have worked hand in hand with representatives of Alberta Education, Alberta Infrastructure, the School Board, teachers and parents through our interactive “workshop” process to ensure the new school truly reflects the needs of the School Division and the community.

The proposed new school is primarily a one storey facility with a mechanical mezzanine. The core components of the school consist of 3,276 m2 with a capacity to accommodate seven modular classrooms.

Barr Ryder mediated several stakeholders and program workshops in the community to define the program for the school. It was established that Faith, Community, Gathering, Sharing and Flexibility were to be key elements in the development of the school design. A “heart” for the facility was created to allow for the expression of all of the key elements in the school. The “heart” of the school is centrally located equally accessible from each wing of the school. A chapel alcove was located in the “heart” as a reflection of faith. There is direct access to the gymnasium from the “heart” as the gym is central for community usage. The “heart” is the school’s gathering area and opens up to adjacent areas for flexibility for larger gatherings. A stage was strategically located to open into the gymnasium and as the gathering area in the school. For further flexibility, the wall of the library also opens into the central core of the school.

The classrooms and relocatables were located along two wings radiating from the “heart” of the school Splitting the instructional areas allows for an appropriate level of separation for students as the school is proposed as a K-12 school. Relocatables were also split and positioned at the ends of the each wing, attached directly to the school and at the same level as the school.

Durability, functionality and practicality are also key elements that are clearly reflected in the design of the school.

Sustainability was a major consideration in the design of the project as the new school is intended to achieve LEED® Silver certification.

The project is currently in construction.