Thinkspace Awarded Contract for $200M Langley Schools

We are very excited to announce that Thinkspace has been awarded the contract to design and build the new $200million Smith Campus middle and secondary schools for School District No. 35 in Langley, BC.

This massive project will incorporate two new schools on one campus in the rapidly growing Willoughby neighbourhood of Langley. The middle school will have capacity for 900 students, while the secondary school will have capacity for 1,900 students.

As noted by Rachna Singh, Minister of Education and Child Care, in a news release issued on September 9, 2024, the “new secondary and middle school will make a huge difference for students and families and … these investments will benefit Langley’s school community for years to come.”

The release also noted that the $200+ million contributed by the provincial government to this project is the largest amount of funding provided by the Ministry of Education and Child Care for a school project in the province’s history.

Space programming and project requirements are still being finalized by Thinkspace in conjunction with the District, but each of the schools will include a learning commons, general instruction space, science rooms, special education rooms, gender-neutral washrooms, mechanical and service space, administration areas, gymnasiums, and multi-purpose rooms.

Both schools will promote sustainable design and feature a greenhouse gas reduction strategy. The middle school will also feature a Neighbourhood Learning Centre that includes child care facilities.

One thing the new schools will not include is playfields. SD #35 has worked collaboratively with the Township of Langley to provide student access to Township-owned playing fields at Smith Athletic Park, which have yet to be built.

Thinkspace has already started working with SD #35 and Make Projects, the project manager for Smith Campus, to design these two new schools; design is expected to run until winter 2025, with construction starting shortly after that. Occupancy for both schools is scheduled for September 2027.

Stay tuned to Thinkspace’s LinkedIn page and website for updates on the Smith Campus project during the course of design and construction.