Strathcona-Tweedsmuir
School Master Plan
+ Campus Improvements

Client Strathcona-Tweedsmuir School
Location De Winton | Alberta | Canada

The Strathcona Tweedsmuir School is an independent coeducational school for grades 1-12. Located south of the City of Calgary, the school is sited on an impressive 160 acre campus that includes many significant natural features. Along with Group2 Architects and Fielding Nair International, O2 completed a long-term masterplan for the campus with lead responsibilities for landscape architecture, civil engineering, and stormwater management. Of considerable importance in the plan are sustainable site design and the integration of the campus landscape into the learning curriculum of the school.

The team undertook significant consultation and collaboration with the school to understand their needs and desires for teaching and learning environments. New approaches to learning were incorporated that rely on different types of spaces both inside and outside the building to enhance the learning process. The landscape master plan creates a hierarchical network of trails and pathways throughout the campus, along ravines, slopes, and plateaus. The plan optimizes the cultivated land available for playing fields.

Multi-use fields as well as regulation sized rugby, eld hockey, soccer, and baseball fields have been accommodated, permitting expanded use of the facilities to the surrounding community. Outdoor learning areas were sited throughout the campus, providing a network of places where learning and socialization can be taken outdoors. These include a canoe dock and amphitheater, constructed wetland, and a pavilion.

O2 are working with the school to realize many of the elements in the master plan. To date, new pathways have been established and others reclaimed, the canoe dock, Aspen Lodge, the outdoor learning pavilion, and amphitheatre have been built. The school is also in the process of adding a new elementary school addition to the existing school. The addition will create new outdoor gathering spaces and athletic fields.

O2 led the design process to reconfigure the campus’ traffic circulation strategy, creating dedicated traffic systems and parking facilities for buses, parents, visitors and students. Through all projects with the school, managing consultation timing and construction disruptions has been paramount. This requires strict adherence to design and construction schedules to ensure the education process is not compromised. To date, O2 has worked effectively with the school to manage disruptions and create alternative solutions to minimize this risk.