WalterFedy has received an Outstanding Project Award for excellence in educational facility design in the spring 2020 edition of LEARNING BY DESIGN, the premier source for education design innovation and excellence. The Janet Metcalfe Public School (Kitchener, ON) has been recognized by Learning By Design magazine for its architectural and interior design and for having next-generation benchmark type design and planning features worthy of imitation. 

LEARNING BY DESIGN’s distinguished spring 2020 jury of five architects and end-user’s applauded WalterFedy for its accomplishment in designing the Janet Metcalfe Public School.  All projects included in this edition are each peer-reviewed. The jury discusses and looks for in the project unique and or new concepts being implemented to improve education facility building design.  Projects such as the Janet Metcalfe Public School are scored on six measures: Innovation, Community Need, Interior Design, Sustainability, Functional Design, and 21st Century Learning.   

The Jury comments about this project included: “The exterior entry design and lobby space is very welcoming and warm. It is very nice to see a medically fragile program represented within a project that has strong interior and exterior design. What stands out is how the materials and finishes were selected to replicate the forest landscape that surrounds the building. While part of the finishes involves this nature aspect, other components pay homage to the technology industry. This school is a perfect blend of the two elements.” 

LEARNING BY DESIGN, published in the Spring, Summer, Fall each year circulates to more than 50,000 leaders and decision-makers at all levels of education—from early childhood and elementary schools, career-technical, college, and university-level institutions across the United States.  For more details and to access the magazine’s digital edition, visit: www.learningbydesignmagazine.com  

View the original press release here.
View an e-version of the magazine here.

Learn more about the Morwick Groundwater Research Centre

We are happy to announce we are the recipient of a Diamond Award for Building Engineering in recognition of our work at Conestoga College's Waterloo Campus.

In association with Moriyama & Teshima Architects, we provided mechanical, electrical, structural, and civil engineering services for the College’s $43.5 million, 165,000 square foot expansion of their Waterloo Campus. This project included both a renovation to the existing structure and a new building, nearly doubling the existing area of the College. Part of this project’s funding was supported by the federal government’s Post-Secondary Institutions Strategic Investment Fund (SIF) and was delivered through a fast-tracked process completed over three phases. In order to meet funding requirements, we strategically designed phases in parallel to expedite the design, tendering, and construction processes.

The project included several exciting additions that supplemented Conestoga's existing complement of training and student services programs. The Institute for Culinary and Hospitality Management was designed to educate students interested in hospitality and simultaneously positions Waterloo Region as a culinary tourism destination. The newly added access hub provides career advising, language training, testing, and academic advising for students, newcomers to Canada, job seekers, and area employers. The project also included the addition of the Centre for Advanced Learning, which focuses on information and communications technology, digital technologies, and business.

In line with the College’s mandate for sustainability, we were directed consider their targets for greenhouse gas emission reduction and sustainability in our design. Given the constraint of a limited capacity increase the existing electrical power on site, we designed a new cooling plant, which was the largest electrical load in the facility, to use a smaller chiller supplemented with ice storage. By pre-cooling with ice during the evenings, we were able to design a system that did not require additional power supply for the new building.

We were also involved in the design of a 150 kW solar installation on the new building. It was important to the College that the solar array was visible to the students and the public to showcase their commitment to sustainability. For this reason, the array was installed above the main entrance to the facility facing a major street – University Avenue. While this limited the physical size and angle of the array,  our firm, in conjunction with local solar panel installers, prepared the preliminary layout of the solar array detailing position, angle, and quantity of the solar panels to maximize electrical output.

The complexities the project presented were an invigorating challenge for our team, and we are thrilled with the end result. We look forward to continuing to collaborate with the academic community to deliver projects that support student success and benefit the greater community.

Congratulations to all of the project partners involved in making this development a success.

On September 4, Janet Metcalfe Public School officially opened its doors to students. Located in southwest Kitchener the school is the City’s newest and largest public elementary school, currently accommodating over 550 students.

Equipped with new technology and innovative spaces, the space offers a variety of ways to address students’ unique needs. Children can find work spaces that best facilitate their learning within every classroom, whether that be individual work stations, collaborative tables, standing desks, or ‘comfy corners’. The site also includes a 6,800 SF day care facility and 5,100 SF family centre.

We are thrilled to have had the opportunity to collaborate with Waterloo Region District School Board on this key space in our community.

For more information about the school opening, please see this article from CTV Kitchener News.