The Art and Mary Jane Crooks Hall

For students, it is a "one stop social experience and campus heart" where they eat, relax, socialize, buy school supplies, drop and pick up laundry, uniforms and sports clothing, have meetings, dances, coffee houses, special events and meet parents and faculty in a supervised setting.  They can also learn important business skills in the Saville Centre for Business and Entrepreneurship located on the lower level.

• The building is designed to preserve views from the Bunch Performing Arts Centre deck, while also providing ocean views from both levels of the new facility to Mt. Baker, the Marina and the bay.  The roof forms are horizontal, echoing the horizon line of the ocean beyond.
• Crooks Hall anchors the south end of the campus, forming the southern boundary to the pedestrian spine and Campbell Common.
• A new transportation hub to the west of the dining hall and student centre reinforces a pedestrian-first main campus, while also enabling all off-campus trips to depart from and return to Crooks Hall from a covered and secure area, as well as all deliveries to be made without disruption to instructional spaces.
• The northern portion of the building overlooks Campbell Common, an attractive green space where students can play ball or Frisbee, enjoy informal gatherings, and connect to the oceanfront Millennium Trail.

Main Level

• The dining room is a bright, open, welcoming space which seats 350 at rectangular tables.  The table layout optimizes space, accommodating staggered breakfasts and dinners as well as lunches for 430+ in 25 minutes.
• The Duncan and Verda McNeill Student Centre, adjacent to and visible from the dining room, has a movable partition between the two spaces. It provides an informal space for daily use, while allowing expansion to 500 for special events.  The space is furnished with comfortable couches and round tables, and includes a dance floor, fireplace and mini kitchen. It also has a built-in sound system, wiring for heavy electrical loads and TV and movie projection, rails and wiring for stage lighting, wireless internet connection, laptop plug-ins and a piano.
• A patio overlooking the ocean opens off both the dining room and McNeill’s, and can provide optional outdoor eating in nice weather.
• Opening off the main dining room to the south, the Livingston Conference Room, which has spectacular ocean views and a small adjoining patio, provides table seating for 20-24 for mealtime meetings. The space includes a mini kitchenette, built in projection screen and projector wiring, and outlets for laptops and phone jacks.
• Covered entry and exit areas include student backpack storage, a menu board and noticeboard/display area.
• The servery space will provide 600 sq.ft more space than our previous servery, minimizing congestion and maximizing efficiency.
• The modern and well equipped kitchen and food storage area is almost 2-1/2 times the size of the former space, and is designed for staff to more efficiently prepare and serve meals.

Lower Level

• The Saville Centre for Business and Entrepreneurship is comprised of two spacious classrooms overlooking the ocean and equipped with Smart Boards and wireless internet, separated by modern office space. There is also a large seminar room.
• School Store
• Laundry and Mail Services

Environmental Features

• Built to LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) gold standards.
• Construction targeted for a minimum of 75% waste diversion from landfills.
• Examples of some of the 18 Energy Conservation Measures which are integrated into the building include:
  • Expanded geothermal system: Our geothermal installation is a heat exchanger which was placed in the ocean in front of the building before we began construction. Energy gathered from the ocean is then piped into the building to provide heating and cooling (which also reduces annual operating costs).
  • Heat recovery wheels: Heat created in the building is mixed with fresh air and redirected to other parts of the building.
  • Grey water heat recovery: Heat is recycled from water used in the kitchen and laundry areas.
  • Automatic lighting controls: Occupancy sensors and 3-stage lighting controls minimize energy consumption.
  • Nocturnal pre-cooling: Outside air brought in during the night cools the building before it is used in the morning.
  • On-site bioswales: Landscaped areas in the parking lots naturally filter parking areas.
  • Reduction of water consumption and heating costs through the use of dual flush toilets and low-flow fixtures.
• Materials selected during the design process gave preference to regional materials in order to reduce carbon emissions associated with material transportation.
• A healthy indoor environment through the selection of low emitting finishes throughout.
• The exterior and interior lighting design minimizes light pollution and improves night sky access.