Chantal-Benoit Elementary School & Child Care Centre

We designed a new building for École Élémentaire Chantal-Benoit that accommodates over 260 students from Kindergarten to Grade 6, along with a child care facility for 50 children, in keeping with the Ministry of Education’s space templates for elementary schools and child care facilities.

The long, linear L-shaped building is anchored by one-and-a-half-storey volumes at each end, as well as at the prominent corner where the main streets intersect, subtly reinforcing the school’s presence in the community. A continuous horizontal datum, articulated through varied masonry treatments along the façades, serves as a unifying design element, structuring the rhythm and placement of windows and doors while providing visual coherence across the building’s elevations. To emphasize the entrance, we designed a sweeping, curved architectural form that intuitively guides visitors toward the main doors. Students and visitors are greeted by a bold yellow feature wall framed by a pair of columns, while a large aperture overhead introduces natural light below the canopy, creating a luminous focal point that enhances both visibility and a sense of arrival.

The property is surrounded by new single-family housing on the north and east sides. Future single-family housing is also anticipated on the south side, while a stormwater management pond lies to the west, bordering the protected ravine lands beyond the school property. We located the building along Murrell Boulevard and the future east-west street south of the site to ensure it would mesh with the surrounding community and offer convenient pedestrian access to the main entrance. This siting also allowed us to locate the play area further away from traffic and take advantage of views out to the ravine.

We limited vehicular access to the main entrance on Murrell Boulevard, locating it as far away as possible from the roundabout at the southeast corner of the site. Our design for the parking area maximizes bus drop-off spaces while minimizing aisles and pedestrian crossings.