Project Profile: Elsie Roy Elementary School

In one of Vancouver’s trendiest and vibrant neighbourhoods, sits a warm, safe and caring public school for more than 400 children in grades Kindergarten to 7.

Elsie Roy Elementary School is located in Downtown Vancouver’s Yaletown neighbourhood, which is well known for its rapidly growing population of young families. In order to accommodate this increase in families, the school recently built a new addition. The first floor of the school’s new space allowed for two additional Kindergarten classrooms as well as a space for after school childcare and community programs.

It was this space that connected Elsie Roy staff with Natural Pod.

“Natural Pod provided a service to come and collaborate with us about our needs and wishes for the space, and they developed a design concept for us that we were very pleased with,” said Carolyn Fanning, a Kindergarten teacher at Elsie Roy.

Ultimately, the goal was to create a beautiful, warm and inviting space for all the children who come to learn in it, as well as for the space to be child-centred, flexible and open. Since the utilization of the new space was also to be shared with multiple community partners, it was important that the space be simple with flexible and mobile furniture, Fanning added.

“The fact that Natural Pod is environmentally conscious and that your materials are made locally in BC is a wonderful bonus. Reducing toxins in our children’s environments is something that I value as a parent and an educator.”  – Carolyn Fanning