Projects — Educational — Poplar Road Public School

Moriyama Teshima Architects is proud to have been awarded the Toronto District School Board (TDSB)’s first mass timber project – a low-carbon replacement school at Poplar Road Junior Public School in Scarborough, Ontario. This ambitious project will construct a state-of-the-art, 341-student building that will serve as both an innovative learning environment and a community hub.

The new building will embody highly sustainable design principles with its mass timber construction and low carbon mechanical systems, setting a benchmark for future schools. At the centre of MTA’s design for the new school is our “Kit of Parts” concept – using a regular mass timber grid to create sections allows for a lower-cost and efficient design that can be rolled out to future TDSB schools and sites. Each building would have standard room sizes, but the configuration, and even the façades, would be customized for each project.

Where these sections come together creates another piece in the Kit of Parts – the voids. These spaces can be courtyards, green spaces, gathering rooms, and rooftop areas. At the heart of the new Poplar Road school will be a two-storey courtyard that brings abundant light into the building. Looking into the courtyard will be such spaces as the ground floor library (allowing for an outdoor classroom), as well as a special education classroom and art room on the second floor.

The design takes into account the geological and community heritage of the site, aiming to reflect and celebrate its long-standing connection to the natural world and local culture, with regenerative landscaping featuring native species incorporated into the site. The design will also cater to the existing school community, accommodating the Poplar Panthers’ active lifestyle with suitable spaces for sports and events like the Strawberry Festival.