Dr. Anne Anderson School pays tribute to Indigenous heroine

PHOTOS COURTESY OF MICHAEL WACH.

BY CINDY CHAN

Dr. Anne Anderson’s memory and mission is now immortalized in the form of a high school in Edmonton. To an ever-growing population, the newly built school officially opened in September 2021 in time for the school year for Grade 10 to 12 students, according to Terri Gosine, director of integrated infrastructure services for Edmonton Public Schools. The Alberta government approved funding for the much needed new school. The 19,394-square-metre, two-storey school was designed to accommodate an opening capacity of 1,800 students, but a future addition consisting of 24 classrooms will allow for 2,400 students at the built-out capacity, says Steven Bushnell, senior principal for BR2 Architecture. Bushnell is also the design architect on the project. “Additionally, the City of Edmonton identified this area as having a need for recreational facilities, but also recognized that it might be 10 years before they can build a facility in the neighbourhood,” Bushnell adds. As a result, the City of Edmonton contributed $5 million, which added over 2,000 square metres to the building, to enhance the recreational facilities of the school in the form of a triple gym, which included a fitness centre and running track. “We created a mini recreational facility in the school for public use, but during certain hours only the school can access the facility,” Bushnell explains. “It’s a winwin for everybody.”

Construction on the project began in May 2019 and wrapped up in May 2021, according to Aaron Corser, project executive for Clark Builders. It was an IPD (integrated project delivery) project, which meant multiple parties – including the owner, contractor, and designer – contracted together to build the school. The lead contractor was Clark Builders, and the lead architect was BR2 Architecture in conjunction with aodbt architecture + interior design. The other IPD partners that worked on the project were Protostatix Engineering, D. A. Fox Engineering, SMP Engineering, Collins Industries, Kerr Interiors, Priority Mechanical, and Canem Systems. “IPD is a different model of tendering, designing, and constructing. It’s fairly new to Alberta; when we did our first IPD school, it opened in 2019,” Gosine recalls. “In a typical build, you hire an architect, design a building, then go out and get bids to build it. In this particular model, you tender out all of your partners right at the beginning so you pick who you think has the biggest impact on the building. This team is responsible for building the school at the budget provided from Day 1. Everyone has equal say in how decisions are made. Our build goals are called conditions of satisfaction, and our decisions are based on those conditions.” The team was incredibly collaborative and highfunctioning, working well together to build a high school that would flourish in the 21st century. They asked students what they wanted to see in their school, what the great things are about the schools they’re in, what they want to see more of, and more. “The project started with drilled pile foundations in late spring,” Corser says, adding the building pad had already been started by the developer. In response to the discovery of deep organic fill, the team needed to pivot quickly and early in the design process from a grade-supported to a structural slab to enable structural steel to commence on schedule. “Construction continued through the wettest summer in Alberta in the past 40 years and the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, yet we were able to achieve substantial completion three months ahead of schedule in February 2021, allowing plenty of time for complete landscaping and to assist the owner with move-in and a comfortable operation start-up of the facility,” Corser adds. Gone are the days of being confined to your desks for

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eight hours a day. This school is fully embracing 21st-century learning by providing different kinds of spaces for students to learn, either individually or in groups. “The key is flexible learning spaces for multiple opportunities for learning, socializing, and gathering,” Bushnell says. Edmonton Public Schools developed a handbook on 21stcentury learning, and the team interpreted their findings for Dr. Anne Anderson High School. As a result, the school is organized around an “agora”, a Greek term which means ‘a place of gathering’. The agora is the main circulation axis for the school and also contains the learning commons. Six learning communities connect to the agora and consist of 10 to 12 classrooms in a two-storey box, and they’re connected by a gathering space that includes an amphitheatre stair. The school’s namesake is Dr. Anne Anderson, an author and teacher who wrote books on the Cree language and promoted Metis heritage in Alberta and Canada in general. Her influence is reflected throughout the architecture of the school. “Visual and direct connection to the outdoors is present throughout the school. Natural light is a priority for all occupied areas, instructional spaces, the agora, stairwells, and mixer spaces. First Nations imagery and priorities were the main focus in the design,” Bushnell says. As students enter the school, there is a place of gathering in the form of a stylized teepee; each of the teepee poles have a special meaning. There is also a fireplace in the centre of the teepee, as fire is a symbol of gathering. First Nations elders come to the school, and they do teachings around this fireplace that can light up and become a beacon for the school. “This project is probably the highlight of my career so far,” Gosine says. “It’s a culmination of a lot of years of work. It’s so great and the kids love it. They’re in awe of the building.” n