Douglas Park Elementary School

Twenty-first century learners, with their aptitude for technology, flexibility, and collaboration, belong in a twenty-first century space. Douglas Park Elementary School forges Regina’s academic landscape to the pace of this new generation of students.

Number TEN collaborated with Fielding Nair International to bring to life Regina Public Schools’ Structural Innovation Framework. A vast departure from the original building that once stood on the same site, the new grades K to 8 school features flexible learning environments that allow for greater teacher collaboration, strong interdisciplinary study, and inquiry-based pedagogy. The school is organized into three separate but interconnected personal learning communities — groupings of students by grade level — that flow into a central learning commons that serves as the heart of the school.

Dubbed the “school in the park,” the school’s design features take cues from its park-like setting near Wascana Lake. Sunlight pours through the school’s perimeter glazing and lingers at the vast south window. Large overhead doors open and close to allow flexibility and multiple classroom configurations. Radiant in-floor heating creates a welcoming environment and improves energy efficiency. Warm materials and green coloured glass showcase the natural setting that inspired the design.

The LEED®-Gold certified school serves as a model for environmental responsibility. Students and visitors can witness its energy saving features via a touch screen display, as well as through cut-away views of the radiant heating and cooling systems, high efficiency boilers, and heat exchanger at work. A solar wall stands at the south facing facade of the gymnasium to pre-heat the fresh air supply needed in the mechanical system.

Douglas Park was recognized with a Prairie Design Award in 2014, and placed as a finalist for the MacConnell Award in 2013 - a prestigious international award of distinction from the Association of Learning Environments (formerly CEFPI).

Additional photos of Douglas Park School can be viewed at:
Flickr

CEFPI website link:
http://macconnell.cefpi.org/

Location: Regina, SK
Client: Regina Public Schools
Number TEN's Role: Prime Consultant
Size: 50,052 sq. ft.
Completion: 2012