St. Veronica School: Educational addition to Airdrie

By Cindy Chan

St. Veronica School is a new build in the community of Airdrie. The Government of Alberta approved funding for the new St. Veronica School project, which was managed by the school jurisdiction. Construction began on the school in spring 2018, wrapping up on Aug. 30, 2019. According to Pat Quinn, principal of St. Veronica School, Airdrie’s growth in the southwest corner has been substantial over the last few years. With that growth came the need for a new Catholic school.

“St. Veronica allows all the Catholic students in southwest Airdrie a shorter commute to school,” Quinn

explains. “Students can walk or bike to school. Students who take the bus have a much shorter commute.”

Quinn adds the school is tucked into the heart of the Cooper’s Crossing and Morningside communities.

“Remarkably, St. Veronica was able to open almost a full year ahead of schedule!” Quinn says.

The original targeted construction date was november 2019 with an anticipated school-opening date of September 2020. Construction was completed two months ahead of schedule, which allowed the Calgary Catholic School District to open the school in September 2019, project manager Andrew Van Beilen of Dawson Wallace Construction Ltd. says.

According to Grant MacDonald, director of construction for the Calgary Catholic School District, the school is a two-storey, 5,215-square-metre core building. MacDonald says the kindergarten-to-Grade-6 school has a capacity of about 700 students with eight modular classrooms.

Quinn says when students walk into the school, they will end up in an open foyer area with three-storey windows facing east, which have different-coloured film applied to them that create a stained-glass appearance and fill the space with colour. A number of religious symbols have been incorporated into the building, such as a backlit cross above the main entrance and the colourful suspended tiles that create a cross pattern in the learning commons. The learning commons have sliding doors that open up to a gathering area to create a larger space. The space – which is nicknamed the Vortex – can be used for meetings or school celebrations.

St. Veronica School is also LEED Silver certified. The energy-efficient school’s lights turn off automatically, the water bottle stations, toilets and sinks are sensoractivated and the solar panels take up 40 per cent of the roof.

“The school utilizes a few innovative features unique to this design and material use,” Jonny Hehr, design manager and project architect for Gibbs Gage Architects, says. “Trespa plank was used for its proven durability and natural true wood grain. This material was used both on the exterior and interior to provide warmth and durability.”

“One of the innovations of the school is the floor plan,” Hehr adds. “The central flex space is prominent in the massing, rising three stories and seemingly opening the school as a force in the middle. The expression of this element can be seen in the break lines of the façade as the wedge of this central space acts to push the program elements and make room for the central student flex area.”

The subcontractors that worked on this project are Points West Mechanical (mechanical), Allied Projects Ltd (electrical), Johnson Controls (controls), Gunther’s Masonry (masonry), Flash Fire Protection Ltd. (fire suppression), Lynnwood Roofing Ltd. (roofing), Redline Glass & Metal (aluminum and glazing), West Pointe Building Services Inc. (metal panels), Sunco Drywall Ltd. (steel studs and drywall), Calgary Steel Fabricators (structural steel), Mi-PriDe Painting & Decorating Ltd. (painting), AGRA Foundations Ltd. (piling), Cemrock Flatwork Ltd. (asphalt and site concrete), Baldwin Construction Services Ltd. (site utilities), All Star Landscaping Services Ltd. (landscaping), Western Archrib (glulams), KBM Commercial Floor Coverings (flooring), Design Flooring (tiling), Caliber Sport Systems (gym flooring), Centaur Projects Inc. (gym equipment), Schindler Group (elevator) and Lafarge Precast (precast concrete). n

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