Prepping the Next Generation for Trade Careers

The design and renovation of Victoria High School — a heritage building constructed in 1914, and the replacement of the adjacent Fairey Technical Building was based on an extensive consultation process with educators, school district staff and community representatives to determine educational program needs. The vision for the new Fairey Technical Building was to provide broader exposure of technical education programs to students, staff and parents, and to help prepare new generations of young people for careers in the trades.

Key features of the design include:

• A new student concourse and school entry between the existing school and the new addition that serves as a circulation space and provides access to the new classrooms and shops, and to an existing gymnasium.
• A trades woodworking shop, automotive and auto body shops, a flex tech shop, and supporting classrooms in the Fairey Technical building to provide students the opportunity to take courses such as wood and metal work, auto mechanics, auto body, carpentry joinery, electronics, jewelry-making and industrial design.
• The addition of a new dance studio, home economics lab, aesthetics classroom, integration of IT space within the library and retrofitting of four classrooms in the Victoria High building to further support student learning.
• The use of wood throughout the Fairey Technical building to provide visual warmth and interest, and contrast to the stone and brick masonry, plaster and other hard surfaces of the Victoria High School building.