Rehabilitation of the West Memorial Building

The West Memorial Building (WMB) was constructed from 1954 to 1958, following the construction of its sister building, the East Memorial Building (EMB), which is a mirror image. Together with the EMB and the Memorial Colonnade, which links the two buildings, the West Memorial Building was designated as a Classified Federal Heritage Building in 1992.

ERA is the Lead Heritage Conservation Architect for the revitalization and rehabilitation of the West Memorial Building, on a team led by Moriyama Teshima Architects and Kasian Architecture. ERA is involved in all project phases from schematic design through site review and construction administration.

The project involves the comprehensive rehabilitation of the building to temporarily accommodate the operations of the Supreme Court of Canada and Federal Courts, while that building is renovated, including structural and seismic upgrades, new base building systems, tenant fit-up and the full rehabilitation of the building exterior. The long-term use of the West Memorial Building will be for Government of Canada office space.

Heritage conservation being a primary objective of the project, the balancing of various functional and technical requirements with the conservation of the building’s outstanding heritage value is at the core of our work. The pre-design stage involved the review of an extensive body of existing studies and reports that document the building’s history and values, as well as its physical characteristics and current condition. These served as the starting point for the Consultant Team’s research and investigations, which included an extensive field investigation and testing program to better understand the composition and condition of the various heritage assemblies. As an example, investigations and material testing of the component of the exterior building envelope have determined that the provision of interior insulation to increase the energy efficiency of the building will not adversely affect the stone and other elements.

The analysis of the building’s heritage values, combined with the understanding of the functional and technical requirements imposed by the project, formed the basis for the articulation of a Conservation Approach and Conservation Goals that are guiding decision making as the project continues to be developed and implemented.