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GBCA’s technical expertise on exterior masonry repairs was among the reasons for an Honourable Mention being awarded to the Artscape Youngplace / former Givins-Shaw Street Public School at the Heritage Toronto Awards handed out on October 13, 2015.

The award was presented to Artscape who had commissioned Teeple Architects (Architect of Record), GBCA (Heritage Consultant), Clifford Restoration and CPE Structural Consultants Ltd. (Contractors) to undertake the transformation of the former school building into a community arts and culture facility. The building’s rehabilitation was completed in 2013 allowing for 75,000 square feet of space devoted to artistic inspiration, learning, growth and expression.

The former Givins Street Public School (as it was known prior to 1966) was designed in 1914 by the Superintendent of Buildings for the Toronto Board of Education, C.H. Bishop and was the fourth building on the site. The grand Beaux-Arts style building is clad with red brick with brick band courses and piers. Red sandstone was used for the raised base, band courses, cornices, spandrels with laurel wreaths and swag motifs, and door and window surrounds. Conservation work included the stabilization of the deteriorated sandstone cornices and window sills.

For more information on Artscape Youngplace see their website.  And for more on this year’s Heritage Toronto awards, click here.

At a ceremony at the Palais Royale on September 16, 2015, the owner (Woodcliffe Landmark Properties) and team responsible for the Market Street Development was awarded an Award of Excellence in the Private Buildings in Context – Low Scale Category.

GBCA was the Heritage Consultant on the development that was conceived by Taylor Smyth Architects and DTAH, with Den Bosch + Finchley (Construction Managers), Blackwell Engineering (Structural Engineers) and BK Consulting Inc. (Mechanical/Electrical Engineers). The restoration and rehabilitation of the formerly dilapidated heritage building was just one component of the project, which included new construction on the southern end of the street. But it was the ensemble of buildings and urban design that earned the jury’s praise.

Read the news release.

The report provides a picture of the current state of heritage in Toronto and lays out goals that Heritage Toronto believes will strengthen the heritage sector. GBCA Associate, Sharon Vattay, assisted with the writing of the report. Copies of the report are available to download on the Heritage Toronto website.

The Corporation of Massey Hall and Roy Thomson Hall celebrated Phase 1 of its seven-year Massey Hall Revitalization project.

While still years away, this launch moves us one step closer to the conservation work that will be undertaken by GBCA. Exterior masonry (including the stone carved “Massey Music Hall” signband), along with an extensive list of interior features, will be repaired and/or restored in conjunction with the new addition designed by KPMB Architects. Original design elements so integral to the hall, including stained glass windows, plaster ceiling and Art Deco lobby will be carefully assessed in a GBCA Conservation Plan.

The event was covered by UrbanToronto.

The 2014 Heritage Toronto Awards were handed out on October 21 at Koerner Hall in the Royal Conservatory of Music.

An Award of Excellence went to the redevelopment of Market Street, which included the restoration of the two-storey mid-nineteenth century commercial building adjacent to the historic St. Lawrence Market. Commissioned by Woodcliffe Landmark Properties, GBCA was heritage consultant on a team led by Taylor Smyth Architects and Den Bosch + Finchley.

For more information about the project, see: http://heritagetoronto.org/marketst/

Read about the event in Urban Toronto.