Chamberlain. "You couple that with some creative
contemporary intervention and you generate spaces for people
that push the envelope of creativity while promoting urban
densification with a respect for the past."
One problem with repurposing in the city is that parking
can be sparse. Sometimes the property owner has to give up
space to create parking or acquire more land elsewhere to
satisfy vehicular needs. Or they must rely on the availability of
public parking which can be costly.
When new infrastructure has to be built it costs taxpayers
and forces city services to spread outward from the city centre,
hurting efficiency and response times. This is called urban
sprawl.
"Urban sprawl is never good, it's very inefficient: sewer
lines, costs," explained city councillor Fulvio Valentinis. "It's
unfortunate that it has to happen. You want to increase
density. It helps with public transport." He said urban sprawl
is a factor affecting Windsor's low public transit ridership.
Valentinis represents Ward 3, a chunk of Windsor that’s home
to several reused spaces, including the downtown St. Clair
buildings.
Reusing space slows urban sprawl by taking old
structures and doing something new with them. Windsor still
has many buildings from the eighteenth and nineteenth
centuries throughout the city that are still used. The oldest
structure in Windsor is the Duff Baby House, built in 1794,
and is now used for government offices.
But we still don't have as many repurposed buildings as
other cities. All over Canada historical spaces are kept alive by
clubs, organizations, museums, private businesses and
municipalities to make use of these heritage icons.
"The old buildings are part of our heritage architecturally
and historically. Allowing them to keep standing lets us keep
telling their story," said Valentinis.
One of the repurposed buildings in Valentinis' ward is St.
Paul's Anglican church - now the office of JP Thompson
Architects Ltd., another local architect firm and workplace for
architect Colin McDonald.
"If the building is architecturally significant there is
benefit in reviving the past character to achieve a timeless end
product, (for example) the merger of old and new to create a
modern result that carries a sense of place or use of materials
not achievable with all new construction," said McDonald.
The firm has recently completed the renovation of a
public school and won a Built Heritage Award for their own
office inside St. Paul's.
The John Campbell Public School revamp was undertaken
by JPTA for an adaptive reuse; after 80 years of occupancy the
building was in need of updates and repairs, and measures in
preserving the heritage of the building had to be taken. The
design's challenge was to meet today's classroom and
technological needs while preserving the character of the
1920's building.
The building's brick was repointed and cleaned, and the
windows were upgraded. New roofing was added to increase
the aesthetic and efficiency of the building, all while keeping
the heritage theme present in every design aspect. The main
entrance lobby and one of the classrooms were restored to
their period-correct specifications and the music room and
Heritage Room serve as public exhibits for those in the
community to check out.
Without adaptive reuse, old buildings would cease to
exist, but the breath of creative life reinvigorates them,
allowing them to keep telling their stories while serving
today's needs. Whether it's a home that stands out from the
rest, a centre of learning, a bar, restaurant or office, old spaces
can live on through designation of a new purpose.
Take the video tour of St. Genevieve Lofts
with our writer - click here!
October 2013 - The HUB 25