Issoitapi Elementary School

HISTORY

Located in Glenwood, Alberta, this new K-5 school is a 6,141 m² facility that replaces the former Aahsaopi Elementary School, accommodating 517 existing and new students, including students with Special Needs, within an open, innovative, net zero and energy efficient community facility that provides opportunities for gathering and adaptable learning spaces.
 

VISION: Our land is Our Mother

The land is a source of inspiration, knowledge and nourishment in Blackfoot Culture. The natural environment that surrounds the site lends inspiration and insight to the design of the new Issoitapi School. Through observation of the natural elements - sky, mountains, rivers and wind - the design responds to their forces and celebrates their beauty.  The vision was articulated as “A Blackfoot place that is the heart of the community; a place to gather, learn, share stories that are sustainable, and meaningfully connect past, present, and future healthy
generations.”

Embedded in the design of this school are the community’s cultural values - Niitsitapi values and the Blackfoot worldview. This cultural understanding, paired with a commitment to co-create authentic learning environments that reflect 21st Century Learning, results in a facility that both serves and anchors this remote community for generations to come.

Views to Niinastako (Chief Mountain) provide a wealth of inspiration, for its beauty and cultural importance to the Blackfoot people.

OUR SCOPE

Reimagine along with our Consulting Engineering team, completed the following 

• Scope confirmation
• Community Engagement (During the COVID-19 Pandemic)
• Climate Risk Assessment
• Zero Carbon Building Feasibility Study and design
• Schematic Design
• Design Development
• Rick Hansen Certification
• Construction Documents
• Art and Placemaking Study 
• Construction Administration
• Funding application (SSRIA)
• Furniture and Equipment design and procurement
• Post-Construction Close-out