Hanover School Division (HSD) is located southeast of Winnipeg, Canada and is currently Manitoba's largest rural school division, with 7500 students in 18 schools. A recent wave of immigration has led to rapid growth in both numbers and diversity and the recent planning and construction of Clearspring Middle School in Steinbach is providing many opportunities to create an exciting, flexible and healthy environment that will enable 21st Century Learning. It can be argued that a building can become "architecture" when it demonstrates a connection to place and reflects the spirit of its stewards. The Clearspring Middle School project and its collaborative design process has embodied this "architecture of place", and when students, teachers and staff become its true keepers, the hope is that the collaboration has led to a school with a palpable "soul".