Shunda Construction won the Red Deer Construction Association Building of the Year Award for projects over $7.5 million for their work on Westpark Middle School.
The new $13.5 million school opened last fall and welcomed 500 students. The state-of-the-art facility is in line for LEED Gold standard. LEED stands for Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design. This standard is used as a green rating system for buildings.
A Student Design Committee from Westpark Middle School worked in collaboration with Berry Architecture to help with various elements of the new school. The students' voices were an integral part of the design and many of their suggested elements are included in the school.
The building itself is used as a teaching tool. For example, the electrical systems are encased in glass to allow students to see them and learn how they operate.
The design of the building is open concept and includes outdoor classroom space. Another interesting element is that the brick exterior of the former school will be crushed and will be made into pathways around the new facility.
Shunda Construction's submission for the award focused on the construction portion of the project, however, because this was such a unique project, they included the student involvement. The feedback that Shunda received from the committee was very positive because the submission focused on the teamwork not only by the local trades, but also with Red Deer Public Schools, the design team, and most importantly the contributions made by students.
