cityscape
Restoring the City’s Past
Heritage Toronto Awards nominees honoured for preserving and revitalizing the city's historical buildings.
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- <b>William Kilbourn Memorial Lecture: “Toronto 1974–2014: A Challenge From the Field.”</b><br><br /> <br /> An architect since 1968 and founding partner in 1975 of the firm that evolved into Diamond Schmitt Architects, Jack Diamond has worked on a wide range of projects locally and abroad. His work includes the Four Seasons Centre for the Performing Arts and Holy Blossom Temple in Toronto, the Israeli Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Jerusalem, the Life Sciences Complex at McGill University in Montreal, and Southbrook Vineyards winery in Niagara-on-the-Lake. <br />
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- <b>Bridgepoint Hospital Mosaic Mural Relocation (“Life”)<br><br /> 14 St. Matthews Road</b><br><br /> <i>Commissioned by: Bridgepoint Active Healthcare <br><br /> Architectural/Design Firm: +VG Architects<br> <br /> Craftspersons/Contractors: Clifford Restoration Ltd.; Vitreous Glassworks</i><br><br /> <br /> As part of its replacement of the original Riverdale Hospital building, Bridgepoint Health relocated artist Margit Gatterbauer’s 1960s glass tile mosaic <em>Life</em>. It took two and a half years to assemble the work consisting of 600,000 pieces, which depicts the evolution of mankind. When its $17,000 price tag caused a stir among some Metro Toronto councillors in 1962, Toronto alderman Margaret Campbell defended it on the grounds that “it gives the building something. Take it away and you upset the whole design.” The 85-foot-long work was divided into nine sections for its move into the new Bridgepoint complex. Cleaning and repair work made use of glass that best matched the original material.<br />
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- <b>Bridgepoint Active Healthcare Administration Building<br><br /> 14 St. Matthews Road</b><br><br /> <i>Commissioned by: Bridgepoint Active Healthcare <br><br /> Architectural/Design Firms: Stantec Architecture; KPMB Architects; E.R.A. Architects Inc.; HDR Architecture; Diamond Schmitt Architects; +VG Architects </i><br><br /> <br /> Had provincial government officials had their way back in the 1970s, the old Don Jail <a href="http://torontoist.com/2013/08/historicist-what-to-do-with-the-don-jail/">would have been smashed to bits</a>. Public protest helped save the Renaissance Revival–styled building, designed by William Thomas, which opened in 1864 after a delay due to a fire two years earlier. While 90 per cent of its infamous jail cells were removed to open up the interior, a row has been preserved along with the gallows. Interpretive displays have been installed to tell the building’s story. Original stone and wood flooring was refinished, and the limestone and sandstone exterior was cleaned up. <br />
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- <b>Lassonde Mining Innovation Centre<br><br /> 170 College Street</b><br> <br /> <i>Commissioned by: University of Toronto<br><br /> Architectural/Design Firm: Baird Sampson Neuert Architects<br><br /> Heritage Consultant: William N. Greer<br><br /> Craftspersons/Contractors: Clifford Restoration Ltd.; Semple Gooder Roofing; Architectural Metalcraft Industries Ltd.; BVDA Façade Engineering; Blackwell Engineering.</i><br><br /> <br /> An unused attic at the University of Toronto’s Mining Building (opened 1905) was transformed into a space to accommodate 100 undergraduate and 24 graduate engineering students. Restoration efforts included repair of the brick and stone, selective window replacement, and slate roof work to match existing materials. State-of-the-art sustainability systems were blended in with the site’s heritage elements. <br />
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- <b>Goldring Student Centre<br><br /> 150 Charles Street West</b><br><br /> <i>Commissioned by: Victoria University, University of Toronto<br> <br /> Architectural/Design Firm: Moriyama & Teshima Architects <br /> Heritage Architect: AREA, Architects Rasch Eckler Associates Ltd.<br> <br /> Craftspersons/Contractors: Kenaidan Contracting Ltd.; Halcrow Yolles; Lam and Associates Ltd.</i><br><br /> <br /> Architect (and author of the original edition of <i>Toronto: No Mean City</i>) Eric Arthur’s 1950s Wymilwood Students’ Union Building received an addition that allowed the original structure to remain. Restoration work included waterproofing of the foundation, repairs to the terrazzo floors and curved staircase, rehabilitation of the brick/concrete/stucco exterior, and the removal of a service road to enhance the courtyard.<br />
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- <b>John F. Taylor House – Sisters of St. Joseph of Toronto Residence<br><br /> 2 O'Connor Drive </b><br><br /> <i>Commissioned by: Sisters of St. Joseph <br><br /> Architectural/Design Firm – Heritage Conservation: E.R.A. Architects Inc.<br><br /> Architectural/Design Firm – New Addition: Shim-Sutcliffe Architects Inc. </i><br><br /> <br /> Built in 1885 as a residence for businessman (and founder of the company that became the Don Valley Brickworks) John F. Taylor, this building was designed by architect D.B. Dick in the Queen Anne style. Later used as a seniors residence by the United Church of Canada, the home was restored when the Sisters of St. Joseph built a new residence on the site. Past alterations were removed, a chimney and the original porch entry were rebuilt, and missing elements such as finials were replaced. Overall renovations have brought the site back in line with Dick’s original conception.<br />
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- <b>Market Street Redevelopment<br><br /> 8 Market Street, 87 Front Street, 10-12 Market Street </b><br><br /> Commissioned by: Woodcliffe Landmark Properties <br /> <i>Architectural/Design Firm: Taylor Smyth Architects<br><br /> Heritage Consultant: Goldsmith Borgal & Company Ltd. Architects <br><br /> Craftspersons/Contractors: Historic Restoration Inc.; Clifford Masonry Ltd.; Blackwell; Block and Stone Resource Group Inc.; Den Bosch & Finchley </i><br><br /> <br /> Much of the restorative work on this project—which involved three 19th-century heritage buildings—involved stabilizing the second-storey brick façade of 8 Market Street. A missing wood cornice was recreated, while other work on the façade (which had been marred by an unattractive, peeling paint job on the site of the former Old Fish Market restaurant) included masonry repair and the replication of wooden windows. An addition used red sandstone to blend with the brick. The project also included a revamping of Market Street.
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- <b>O'Connor Estate Buildings<br><br /> 50 Rowena Drive</b><br><br /> <i>Commissioned by: Toronto Catholic District School Board with the O'Connor Irish Heritage House Committee <br><br /> Architectural/Design Firm: Kearns Mancini Architects Inc. </i><br><br /> <br /> This site, originally known as Maryvale, was built in 1932 as the estate of Laura Secord candy chain founder and Canadian senator <a href="http://torontoist.com/2013/04/historicist-a-box-of-laura-secord/">Frank O’Connor</a>. The main house and coach house were conserved and readapted for administrative and educational use alongside the neighbouring Senator O’Connor College School. Restoration work involved masonry, plaster moulding, marble and tile work, wood trim, the main portico of the estate house, and the cupola of the coach house.<br />
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- <b>The Serbian Eastern Orthodox Church of St. Archangel Michael <br><br /> 212 Delaware Avenue </b><br><br /> <i>Commissioned by: The Serbian Eastern Orthodox Church of St. Archangel Michael<br><br /> Architectural/Design Firm: Sander Gladstone Architect </i><br><br /> <br /> Built in the late Victorian age as an Anglican church, the building underwent remodelling as it tripled its square footage via a four-storey expansion rendered in Serbian late-Byzantine style. A previous hall expansion was removed, while repairs to the original building included foundation, stone, roof, wall, and window work.<br />
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Torontoist is pleased to be the media sponsor for the 40th annual Heritage Toronto Awards and William Kilbourn Memorial Lecture.
When the Heritage Toronto Awards began in 1974, the city was realizing the value of revitalizing its historical buildings. The preceding decade had seen too many wrecking balls at work—even sites we now consider iconic, such as Union Station, were threatened. Over the past 40 years, thanks to heritage preservation laws and forward-thinking architects, developers, and institutions, sites that likely would have become parking lots or condo towers have served as models of adaptive re-use. They have showcased evolving efforts to restore buildings to their past grandeur while incorporating modern design and technology to improve their comfort and energy-efficiency.
Given the importance of architecture in raising Torontonians’ awareness of heritage issues, it is appropriate that this year’s William Kilbourn Memorial Lecturer is one of the city’s most renowned architects: Jack Diamond. As Richard Florida observed in his foreword to Insight and On Site: The Architecture of Diamond and Schmitt, the work of Diamond’s firm over the past 40 years has challenged us “to provide an architecture that will uplift and inspire, strengthen and connect and never, ever overpower…they give us hope that architecture can fit into and help uncover the true soul of the city.”
This year’s nominees in the William Greer Architectural Conservation and Craftmanship category, displayed in the gallery above, have been recognized for work ranging from the remounting of a 1960s glass mosaic to the renewal of historic homes in the former East York.