Acton Ostry Architects

Located in Vancouver’s Kitsilano neighbourhood, the red-bricked St. Augustine School and Child Care provides a symbolic link to the nearby St. Augustine Church and Parish by means of a playful masonry collage composed of three shades of brick arranged in varying patterns. Buff-brick cruciforms modestly mark the school as a Catholic institution in the surrounding neighbourhood. Slender cruciform columns support folded steel canopies outside the main entrances. Mother Mary is represented by blue coloured glass and south-facing vivid green snaking-stairways the children stomp upon as they rush outside to play.

project

St. Augustine School & Child Care

location

Vancouver, BC

client

St. Augustine's Parish, Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Vancouver

completion

2015

size

4,200 m2

buff-brick cruciform.

buff-brick cruciform

Sustainability

LEED Gold equivalent

awards & recognition

2015
Masonry Institute of British Columbia Award

entry approach.

entry approach

The outside brick work is colourful, unique, and tells two big messages: we are a Catholic school, as depicted by two crosses embedded in the outside walls, and we are very playful! We are delighted that our new school is being so well received.

St. Augustine School

brick collage.

brick collage

school entrance.

school entrance

feature stair.

feature stair

feature stair light shaft.

feature stair light shaft

feature stair.

feature stair

feature stair skylight.

feature stair skylight

kindergarten.

kindergarten

learning commons.

learning commons

learning commons.

learning commons

serpent stair.

serpent stair

school outdoor play.

school outdoor play

child care.

child care

child care outdoor play.

child care outdoor play

child care outdoor play.

child care outdoor play

The interior is simply beautiful — seeing the attention to detail, creative use of space, abundant light and use of coloured glass really fills us with gratitude — our most frequently used expression!

St. Augustine School