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Ta'talu Elementary School
Ta'talu Elementary School
Surrey, Canada
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Other Projects by Thinkspace Architecture Planning Interior Design
Ta'talu Elementary School
Surrey, Canada
Type
STATUS
Under Construction
YEAR
2024
SIZE
25,000 sqft - 100,000 sqft
BUDGET
$10M - 50M
Ta’talu Elementary School will be home to 575 grade 1-7 students, 80 kindergarten students, and an on-site childcare facility. This 5,051m2 facility will be the first three-storey hybrid mass timber school in British Columbia when it is complete, which is significant because building codes technically only allow for two-storey combustible (i.e. wood) construction for schools of this size. Extensive work with local regulatory authorities allowed the design team to come up with alternative solutions that combine mass timber with steel and still meet stringent safety and code requirements.
The school was gifted the name “Ta’talu” by the Semiahmoo First Nation, which means Little Campbell River – the name of the local watershed. Both the interior and exterior design have taken inspiration from the river and its surrounding environment.
The building will embody 21st century learning principles, and will consist of three stories of stacked learning neighbourhoods on the east and west ends; each neighbourhood is made up of four or five classrooms that open onto a shared project space. The shared program includes a learning commons, multi-purpose room, administration areas, and a gym, all of which are connected by a central atrium. The atrium and shared program form the heart of the school, providing wayfinding and visual connection for students.
There was a major push for sustainability on this project, and the school was designed to be net zero operational carbon ready. The client and the design team also wanted to reduce embodied carbon as much as possible, which was a major impetus to use hybrid mass timber construction; the total global warming potential of the steel version of the building would be 9.5% higher than hybrid mass timber. Aesthetic, biophilic, and enhanced learning properties of wood construction also contributed to the decision to use mass
The school was gifted the name “Ta’talu” by the Semiahmoo First Nation, which means Little Campbell River – the name of the local watershed. Both the interior and exterior design have taken inspiration from the river and its surrounding environment.
The building will embody 21st century learning principles, and will consist of three stories of stacked learning neighbourhoods on the east and west ends; each neighbourhood is made up of four or five classrooms that open onto a shared project space. The shared program includes a learning commons, multi-purpose room, administration areas, and a gym, all of which are connected by a central atrium. The atrium and shared program form the heart of the school, providing wayfinding and visual connection for students.
There was a major push for sustainability on this project, and the school was designed to be net zero operational carbon ready. The client and the design team also wanted to reduce embodied carbon as much as possible, which was a major impetus to use hybrid mass timber construction; the total global warming potential of the steel version of the building would be 9.5% higher than hybrid mass timber. Aesthetic, biophilic, and enhanced learning properties of wood construction also contributed to the decision to use mass
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