Plans to redevelop Glenlyon Norfolk School’s oceanside Junior Campus at 1701 Beach Drive are moving forward.

 

The Glenlyon Norfolk School Society (GNSS) has applied to the District of Oak Bay for permits to replace the school’s aging infrastructure with modern facilities and to restore its Francis Rattenbury-designed heritage buildings.

 

In a report presented to Oak Bay planning staff, underlying the need for a full-on redevelopment process are plumbing and electrical issues in classroom buildings and the gymnasium, while a series of “unsympathetic improvements” to heritage buildings throughout the school’s 80 year history require undoing.

 

The Society also cites a strong desire to complement Glenlyon Norfolk’s “educational philosophy and practices” with architectural design and learning spaces that will appear most notably in the form a modern, adaptable ‘main classroom building’ north of Rattenbury House – Glenlyon Norfolk’s most prominent architectural feature – earmarked to replace existing learning facilities.

 

Designed by Victoria-based architectural firm Low Hammond Rowe, the main classroom building will provide all pupils with ocean views while exposing their learning environments to ample daylighting and natural ventilation. A two-storey interconnected learning commons area with a “central set of bleachers to accommodate an all-school assembly or performance” will be at the heart of the new building, reinforcing its immersive learning environment. A gymnasium will be situated at the building’s northwest corner closest to Beach Drive.

 

The heritage restoration component of the redevelopment proposal calls for Rattenbury House, once the notable Victoria architect's home, to be fully restored to its original 1912 appeareance. The restoration process will also include the removal of several annexes built in 1937 and throughout the 1970’s.

 

A full restoration of the Rattenbury's Boat House at the south end of the campus will also be undertaken and two 3,600 square foot early learning buildings for pre-kindergarten and kindergarten students will flank it to the west.

 

The school’s historic Coach House, situated along the northern perimeter of the campus, will be moved by several metres to accommodate new construction. Once restored the Coach House will serve as a music education facility.

 

Improvements to the school’s traffic management plan and the addition of on-site parking will yield a 29-stall underground parking garage for staff below the main classroom building while student drop-off and pick-up zones will be enhanced along Beach Drive.

 

Pending successful municipal approvals, construction could begin as early as 2018. C