Transforming a 1970’s Brutalist building into a vibrant, modern French-language secondary school required more than renovation – it demanded a complete reimagining of how students can experience learning in the heart of downtown Toronto. We worked with Conseil scolaire Viamonde to develop this project to enable local children to continue their French education through Grade 12.

The original building, the Vocational School for Girls, was designed by local firm Fairfield and Dubois, and it featured the exposed concrete typical of its era. Rather than fighting this heritage, we embraced the building’s structural rationality while transforming its character through strategic interventions. Warm wood panels create inviting contrast against the concrete structure, while new areas of glazing flood formerly dark spaces with natural light.

Working within a compact urban site of less than one acre, we added 5,000 sq.ft. to accommodate new classrooms and an elevator for building accessibility. The revitalized facility centres on a flexible Student Commons with stage and retractable amphitheatre seating that transforms from daily gathering space to performance venue. A new, connected Learning Commons provides bright study areas with curved soft seating and collaborative tables, while specialty classrooms support sciences, technology, music, and arts programming. We enlarged the original third-storey gymnasium to regulation size and added windows that connect students to the surrounding environment.