Handsworth Secondary School

This project is a complete replacement of the existing secondary school, with the existing school remaining in operation during construction. The  new school has capacity for 1,400 students and approximately 110 teachers and staff.  It has 31 general instruction classrooms, nine science classrooms, various other learning spaces (for special needs, English language, business education, information technology, arts, and design), library, administration offices, multi-purpose room, lunch servery, tech education shops, black-box theatre, dance and music spaces, and three connected gyms with change rooms and storage rooms.

The grand commons in the new school is a three-storey light-filled atrium that serves as the heart of the school.  Two central corridors branch out from either side of this space.  The theatre, administration offices, lunch servery, and learning commons open directly onto the grand commons, and corridors on the second and third floors terminate with an overlook down into the commons.  In essence, all roads lead to the grand commons.

Staff and students began moving in in 2022, as much as six months ahead of schedule.

Photographer: Ed White Photographic

Project Stats

• Client: School District 44
• Location: North Vancouver, BC
• Size: 13,055 sq.m.
• Project Type: New Build
• Project Delivery: Design-Bid-Build