Douglas Elementary School

Thinkspace was retained by the Surrey School District to complete three elementary schools: Douglas, Maddaugh Road, and Edgewood. Each of the three schools share a fundamentally similar design, which was significantly influenced by the Thinkspace-designed Mar Jok Elementary School in West Kelowna.

These new kindergarten to Grade 7 schools address existing and future accommodation projections within three growing communities in Surrey. Each school was also approved with a 15% area allowance for a Neighborhood Learning Centre.

Each school was designed to achieve provincial government policy priorities, including LEED® NC 2004 Gold equivalent standards, and to maximize the use of wood in accordance with the Wood First Act. They were completed under a design / bid / build procurement.

Like the other schools, Douglas features a welcoming two-storey entrance through a foyer, connecting front main entrance, parking and student drop-off with student play and sports field programs; community use spaces (gymnasium, multi-purpose room and meeting space) that are separated from student education spaces for sound attenuation and after-hours community use; classrooms subdivided into learning neighborhoods with each neighborhood located around a shared project space with direct views and access to exterior play areas; fully glazed sliding walls opening to a shared project space in each classroom, to acknowledge different learning styles and support the delivery of differentiated instructional methodologies.

Work started on Douglas Elementary in July 2018 and the school was completed in October 2020.