An elementary school in North Vancouver recently completed a historical restoration that earned LEED Gold certification.

Queen Mary Elementary School, built in 1914, is a heritage-designated structure that needed significant upgrades. In 2010, the North Vancouver School District started a project to restore the school’s seismic structure and construct an addition to accommodate needed learning areas, while maintaining the heritage status of the building and meeting high environmental building standards.

Sustainable design and construction were a priority, with the use of recycled demolition materials and installation of efficient mechanical systems and exterior walls with high thermal performance. Also, an educational program was developed on the sustainable features of the building and site.

The project received an Outstanding Achievement Award from Heritage B.C., after restoring the facades, maintaining the double entrance, upgrading the wood roof and fan tower and preserving heritage doors and windows, under the guidelines for conserving heritage places in Canada. The new addition, completed in 2014, included reorganizing the central stair system, creating an atrium space, and doing an extension to the building for a new gymnasium, library and administrative space.

“The North Vancouver School District has a strong commitment to environmental sustainability,” said Superintendent John Lewis. “This philosophy is echoed in our district motto as the ‘natural place to learn’ and permeates all of the work we do.”