Roundhouse Daycare and Preschool

Canmore, AB, Canada

When funding for a new daycare facility in town became available, russell and russell design studios proposed a custom solution with local character. Based on Canmore’s historic roundhouse, circa 1896, the central focused plan lends itself perfectly to the layers of security required for a Daycare and a Preschool.

Canmore, Alberta is the gateway to the Canadian Rocky Mountains and before it became a mining town it was the location for additional steam engines that were required to be added to trains to help them over the infamous Kicking Horse Pass. We felt it would be a memorable and exciting way to create an authentic building with local connections to inspire young minds.

Parents and children arrive in the central courtyard, the turntable, entering the roundhouse through the multiuse spaces at the front or inside of the building and move through the entry and mudrooms to the classrooms and washrooms at the rear or outside of the roundhouse. This allows easy observation and control of visitors and children by multiple members of staff.

After the initial concept was accepted, we worked with a group of volunteers, the mayor and the Town of Canmore to raise funds and community support. The school division donated land next to the middle school and allowed us to line up the building at the end of 5th Street to create a dramatic front approach and end to the street. Our goal was to use the limited budget to create a memorable learning experience and place that spoke to local history and created a playful space.

The building came in below budget and reached Silver LEED standard. A complimentary section of building approximately a quarter the size was build adjacent to the Roundhouse for the local Air Cadets who for the first time were able to own their own building.