Surrounded by community recreation facilities and just a short walk from Lunenburg’s UNESCO World Heritage zone, Bluenose Academy draws on the town’s rich architectural language in providing a contemporary, state of the art educational facility for over 500 students. The design offers views to the harbour and historic Lunenburg Academy from many significant vantage points in its three-storey academic wing. A sawtooth configuration in plan gives a domestic scale to the building and reinvents corridors as learning space opportunities.
The school shares its space with the Lunenburg community including the library, cafeteria, music room, drama room, tech-space and gymnasium. This ensures maximum use of the building and eliminates the need to build a separate community centre elsewhere.
Understanding what makes an effective school design is important. The design aspects of Bluenose [Academy] proposed by Architecture49 helped produce a learning institution that we are proud of and will serve our students well into the future. Steve Prest, Former Director of Programs & Student Services, South Shore Regional School Board
The school was designed to LEED Gold standards and sustainable elements included natural light for 75% of the occupied space, green roof, solar hot water collectors, 80% reduction of wastewater, and a superior building envelope.