SD 62 Royal Bay Secondary School Expansion – Project Complete!

SMcN Consulting is excited to announce that SD 62 Royal Bay Secondary School expansion project is complete. Construction started in January 2019 and opened for use in September 2020.

See the structure come to life in 45 second by watching this time lapse video: https://youtu.be/hmUshY0fmwo

Video Credit: Michael Hladky, P.Eng., SMcN Project Manager & SD 62

This project added another twenty classrooms (600 seats) to the current 800 student building and was designed to parallel the existing LEED® Gold certification. 

SMcN Consulting designed and oversaw construction of the mechanical systems (HVAC, plumbing, and fire protection). The building expansion required construction of a secondary mechanical plant room, which was used to further improve the energy-efficient heating and cooling systems.

Energy use was minimized by utilizing an additional 11,000 CFM of exhaust heat recovery, paired with a central water-to-water heat pump to scavenge substantial amounts of otherwise-wasted heat. Furthermore, during “shoulder season” months, the water-to-water heat pump is able to extract heat from warm, south-facing rooms and distribute it to other areas needing heat, simultaneously satisfying both heating and cooling demands with very little input energy.

When heating can no longer be achieved through heat recovery alone, the secondary source is a new 60-ton, high-efficiency air-source heat pump, quietly located in an acoustic rooftop enclosure. The primary/secondary heating system offers an economically attractive way to satisfy almost all the school’s yearly heating and cooling needs with renewable energy. On the coldest winter days, and as an emergency backup, tertiary heating is supplemented by high efficiency, condensing natural gas boilers.

SMcN Consulting is honoured to have collaborated on this project with the following teams:

  • Owner: School District 62 (Sooke)
  • Architect: HCMA Architecture & Design
  • Mechanical Consultant: SMcN Consulting
  • Structural Consultant: Herold Engineering
  • Electrical Consultant: NRS Engineering
  • Civil Consultant: Associated Engineering
  • General Contractor: Knappett Projects Inc.
  • Mechanical Contractor: Archie Johnstone Plumbing & Heating
  • Sheet Metal Contractor: Playsted Sheet Metal