The Third Academy is a special education facility for students with learning challenges. A major consideration with this project was its need to function as a school for a period of ten years and then revert to its long-term function as a strip mall. The school includes a small gym, classrooms, and administration offices. It was important to integrate the style of this new building into a 50-year-old site, including bringing the landscaping and building location up to current City of Red Deer standards.

Project Update:

Since its construction in 2004, this building has fulfilled the owner’s goal of an expedited conversion to a new tenant function. The gym was specifically designed to become a two-storey space with proper exiting, stairs, etc. All spaces were designed with tenant conversion in mind. In 2012, the building was converted to an Outreach Centre which provides a variety of services, including Central Alberta Women’s Outreach Society and Suicide Information and Education Services.