Kamloops’ new elementary school to be mostly timber built and designed to handle extreme heat

A new 485-seat elementary school and learning centre in Kamloops will be a timber-built structure designed to deal with extreme summer heat.

According to the B.C.Ministry of Education and Child Care, work on the $63.5 million project in the Pineview Valley neighbourhood in Kamloops’ southwest will begin next spring and be completed by the summer of 2026.

The kindergarten to Grade 7 school will incorporate a learning centre with child care spaces and be built on an eight-acre lot recently transferred from the provincial government to Kamloops’ School District 73.

“Mass timber will be used in the new school’s design, where appropriate. It will also include greenhouse gas reduction measures that will set the building’s emissions at least 50 per cent lower than the current LEED Gold Standards,” the Ministry statement read.

“In addition, the school will be built with a climate-resilient building design that will better equip the school to stay cool during extreme heat.”