Meticulous work brings added value to heritage jewel
The beloved 1911 sandstone building housing Calgary’s City Hall was in precarious condition when Lemay’s Western Canada team and Evoq took on the task of rehabilitating it.
The team aimed to revitalize civic pride in the building and preserve its iconic architecture. It assembled a complex unit of multiple consultants and in-house conservation experts to perform extensive research, testing and analysis. Close collaboration with the client and heritage authorities further enabled an in-depth understanding of the building’s materials and construction.
Ultimately, every one of some 15,500 stones had to be catalogued, an international quarry search launched, and rare skilled stonemasons located, to faithfully reproduce the original building and intent while performing major preservation work and upgrades.
Our team also added value to the treasured public edifice by correcting structural and design weaknesses, designing a drainage system and adapting the geometry of the parapet so that the latter would be hidden from view. Modern interventions such as the bespoke lighting strategy allow for this civic hub to regain its visibility as one of the City’s most iconic buildings.
This work restores a national, provincial and municipal heritage landmark, as stated on the City of Calgary’s website, “to a condition intended to serve Calgary for another 100 years.”
