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High marks at super school info session
Expert panel answers questions from the naming of the facility to classroom layoutKatherine Hudson Northern News Services Published Thursday, February 9, 2012
About 40 people, including parents, teachers and interested community members, gathered Feb. 1 to get the inside scoop about the second most expensive project the GNWT has undertaken, with the exception of the Deh Cho Bridge, coming in at more than $100 million. The presentation and question-and-answer period lasted a little under two hours, starting with a presentation from Simon Taylor, of Yellowknife-based Pin/Taylor Architects, which is overseeing the construction and development of the facility. Taylor explained the layout of the school through a series of pictures. The theme of the school is transparency, with windows gracing the corridors and the walls facing outside. The Mackenzie River can be seen from the school, Taylor said. There are shades on the multitude of windows that limit the sun exposure into the building in the spring, summer and fall, yet allow natural light into the building, as well. He said the school is designed with vents that will open and purge the building of warm air, acting as a natural ventilation system. "We tried to mute the colour of the building because what you don't see yet is that we're landscaping the entire site," he said. There will be about 600 trees and thousands of shrubs native to the area to be planted in the summer, Taylor said. In the summertime, the sun will shine the colours into the building. The greyish exterior of the building is designed with metallic fleck, the surface of which will actually change colour when light hits it, according to Taylor. He said canopies will hang off every window. There will be coloured canopies at the entrances. "In the evenings or in the winter, when you've got the light from the school shining out, it will be shining out through these coloured canopies so these entrance ways will be these beautiful apparitions," said Taylor. There are communal areas both inside the school and on the grounds and alleyways leading to the school's entrances. There are two separate entrances to the elementary school and high school. The two schools will act as separate entities and are removed from each other by a massive double gym. The high school sits on the left and the elementary on the right. The kindergarten corridor has painted whales and other wildlife colourfully displayed on the walls and in their classrooms the counters are lower and the whiteboard can move down to floor level for better viewing. The kindergarten classes have their own washrooms and a wet room to get messy with arts and crafts, which also leads to their enclosed playground. On the high school side, there is a lot of open "hang-out" space. The colours are more "mature and abstract" rather than the brighter and playful colours of the elementary section. Tony Devlin, vice-chair of the Inuvik District Education Authority (IDEA), said the naming of the school is left up to the community. He said the IDEA is asking the community to join a committee with stakeholders in the near future to make suggestions to the GNWT on the formal name of the school. "Why is the school being completed a year earlier?" asked one audience member. Other than working together and having the best teams on the job, Todd Engram, of Inuvik's public works and services department, said the installation of structural steel in the winter rather than waiting until spring made a huge impact. There have been two "really nice winters" and this past summer was dry. "Everything's been on our side right from the start almost," said Engram. There is currently no plan for a grand opening to allow students and parents to see the school before the first day of school in September, but the IDEA and the Beaufort Delta Education Council are on board for a sort of family day to take place in the summer.
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