Uncategorized

The conversion of the former Weston bakery industrial complex on Eastern Avenue in Toronto has won a 2024 Brownie Award in the REBUILD: Project Development at the Building Scale category.

This award recognizes the builders who demonstrate excellence in enhancing and accelerating the urban regeneration of public spaces while reimagining the reuse of heritage structures that contribute to the health and well being of communities across Canada.

GBCA was the heritage consultant, working with Diamond Schmitt architects.

For more on the project see the Brownie Awards 2024 website.

The rehabilitation of the former Weston Bakery on Eastern Avenue has been nominated for a Heritage Toronto Award.  GBCA was the heritage consultant for this project by Graywood Developments and Alterra Developments, working closely with the prime architect, Diamond Schmitt.  For more information about the transformation of the former bakery factory into Wonder Condominiums, see the Heritage Toronto website.

The Heritage Toronto Awards Ceremony will take place on October 28, 2024, at the historic Carlu event space on Yonge Street.  Tickets are available on the Heritage Toronto website.

GBCA is proud to announce that Senior Principal Christoper Borgal is a recipient of the King Charles III Coronation medal.  This Canadian commemorative medal was created to mark the King’s coronation and is a visible and tangible way to recognize outstanding Canadians.  The award ceremony took place at the Royal Architectural Institute of Canada’s conference in October.  See the list of recipients on the RAIC website.

Principal, Carlos Morell, presented a paper at the 2023 National Trust Conference, a summary of which has now been published in this month’s digital issue of Canadian Architect.  Carlos assesses the importance of understanding heritage buildings in order to determine the best approach for conservation.  Link to the article here.

GBCA is assisting the not-for-profit Jury Lands Foundation to conserve one of the original buildings on this National Historic Site in Bowmanville, Ontario.  GBCA has been working on this site since 2014, preparing a mothballing plan as a means of stabilizing the abandoned site until plans were put in place for the future.

 

Learn more about the current plans here and consider supporting the Jury Lands Foundation in their efforts.

The revitalization of Massey Hall in Toronto has been recognized with an award from the Chicago Athenaeum: Museum of Architecture and Design and the European Centre for Architecture Art Design and Urban Studies for 2023.  The International Architecture Award Honorable Mention was awarded from a field of over 750 worldwide projects.  Congratulations to the entire team of architects, contractors and craftspeople who made this project such a success.

Read more about the awards here.

On February 23, 2023, The Honourable Elizabeth Dowdeswell, Lieutenant Governor of Ontario, and John Ecker, Chair, Board of Directors, Ontario Heritage Trust, presented the Lieutenant Governor’s Ontario Heritage Awards to those who made exceptional contributions to cultural and natural heritage conservation, environmental sustainability and biodiversity in 2022.  The Massey Hall Revitalization Project was one of this year’s recipients.

Created in 2006, the Lieutenant Governor’s Ontario Heritage Awards are annual, juried awards administered by the Ontario Heritage Trust to recognize remarkable achievements in heritage conservation across the province.

Read about all of the recipients on the Ontario Heritage Trust website.

GBCA was a proud Gold Sponsor of this year’s National Trust Conference, which took place in Toronto at the end of October. As part of the conference events, GBCA Principal, Sharon Vattay, along with Senior Designer, Paul Gagne, gave a guided tour of the National Ballet School. Joined by Mitchell Hall of KPMB and staff of the School, conference delegates were given insight into the successful integration of a number of heritage buildings (in a densely urban neighbourhood) into a modern thriving complex of studios, classrooms, offices and residences. Revisiting the school and the residences almost 20 years after completion solidified the remarkable precedent that these complexes have set for the opportunities in conservation projects.

After a three-year pandemic hiatus, Heritage Toronto was able to host an in-person awards ceremony, celebrating excellence in the heritage sector.

Six winners were named from 44 nominees, with Massey Hall winning in the Built Heritage category. The jury called the project a skillful revitalization of a Toronto landmark, being impressed with the craftsmanship applied to the building’s original masonry, stained glass, and decorative plaster ceilings, as well as the terrazzo and marble elements of the 1930s Art Deco-style foyer. The committee also praised the spatial inventiveness; the addition bringing performance space, new bars and new circulation onto a tight and complex site.

See more about the awards on the Heritage Toronto website.

On September 22, 2022, the City of Windsor announced the Mackenzie Hall Masonry Restoration Project as one of the five recipients of its 2022 Built Heritage Awards. The GBCA team consisting of President and Senior Principal, Christopher Borgal and Principal (Conservation), Carlos Morell, along with Jason Grossi of Studio g+G Architects served as the architectural team for the project.

To preserve the important nineteenth century landmark building, the team prepared a conservation strategy that took a holistic and comprehensive technical approach to rehabilitate and repair the building envelope.

GBCA is honoured to be awarded for its work on Mackenzie Hall which was recognized as one of the first heritage-designated properties in Windsor.

To learn more, please visit the City of Windsor’s website.