Occupancy Date:
July 1999
Building Specifications:
5.6 Acres
72,650 sf.
2 Storeys
Facility Includes:
Elementary School
& Community Centre
- gymnasium & changerooms
- stage
- 5 acre park
- outdoor skating rink
- lit tennis courts
- football / soccer fields
- play structures
Pye & Richards Architects
Novatech Engineering
Consultants Ltd.
Halsall & Associates Ltd.
Consulting Engineers
Goodkey Weedmark &
Associates 1985 Ltd.
Steven R. Torrance Ltd.
Gansen & Lindsay Design Consultants
The Ottawa Carleton District
School Board
Jim Grieve, Director of Education
Maple Ridge consists of a two storey 72,650 sf. elementary school and a 7,000 sf. community centre. The community centre operates as a stand alone facility with its own separate entrance.
The school fronts on to two residential streets, with the community centre adjacent to the municipal park. This site planning permitted shared use of the parking, drop off and building services. The scope of work also included the complete design of a 5 acre park, outdoor rink, lit tennis courts, football/soccer fields and play structures.
Maple Ridge Elementary School was planned to facilitate community use during evenings and weekends including the gymnasium, stage and change rooms. During school hours the community will not normally have access to the school or gymnasium.
As a response to the educational program prepared by the user committee, this school was planned on a "pod" concept. Each pod includes 6 classrooms, a special education room, a computer lab, a teacher planning room, and one specialized classroom (art, science, or family studies). Each pod incorporates a central gathering space to display student work. A special "pod" incorporates administration offices, a resource centre, and three kindergartens.
The architectural expression of the building employs three brick colours selected to provide banding and visual interest and to highlight the community centre as a distinct function with its own identity. Large bay windows also form a strong visual feature on each elevation. The building is constructed primarily of load bearing concrete block walls with brick veneer, concrete slab on grade, and open web steel joists. A centralized mechanical system provides full heating/air conditioning throughout the building. All classrooms and computer labs are networked back to a central server in the resource centre.
The design intent was to provide a school with the flexibility to adapt to future changes, both technological and educational.
