Elementary School & Child Care Centre in Brooklin

Bortolotto was commissioned by Mon Avenir Conseil Scolaire Catholique to design and build a new elementary school and child care center. The 43,000-sf facility will accommodate over 350 elementary students from Junior Kindergarten to Grade 6, alongside a child care centre for 50 children.

We opted to position the building close to the street to create a cohesive streetscape, emphasize walkability, and forge a strong connection to the community. Pedestrian access and safety were also key considerations, with vehicular access limited to one driveway, strategically located away from the primarily residential side streets to reduce pedestrian crossings. The main play areas are located behind the school. 

The new Brooklin Elementary School and Child Care Centre was conceived as a U-shaped building sitting tight to the property lines that mark the corner to create an edge condition along the two main streets. The building is one-storey, with double-loaded corridors intersecting at a central core that contains the gymnasium, library, lunchrooms, and mechanical spaces. One part accommodates administration offices near the front office, main entry, and child care facilities, while the other contains classrooms in a standard layout.

This design concept ensures maximum efficiency and access to natural light for the spaces along each wing, with mechanical spaces not requiring daylight centrally located at the inside corner of the L-shaped ground floor plan. This layout also allows for easy expansion along the classroom wing, if required in the future.