Architecture|Tkalcic Bengert (now part of Stantec Architecture Ltd) was commissioned to undertake the restoration of this one-storey building and to prepare it for its new uses. To bring this building into the twenty-first century without losing its heritage value, we have used Parks Canada’s Standards and Guidelines for the Conservation of Historic Places in Canada as the fundamental guide to restoration. The originality of the building will be preserved while applying minimal interventions to repair the structure and the finishes. The exterior walls are aluminum curtainwall and masonry. Concrete floor and roof slabs are supported at the outer circumference by slender steel H-shaped columns embedded in the window mullions, and by a structural wall under the dome’s perimeter. On the exterior, every exposed concrete surface was covered in mosaic ceramic tiles, but over time the concrete decayed, potentially compromising the structure. The floating stairs and entrance platforms, constructed from site-formed terrazzo, were also seriously eroded. The curtain wall components were also damaged, plus this window system is not environmentally efficient for this harsh northern climate. All of these items are being restored to either their original condition or appearance where the original materials cannot be retained. Originally, the dome was uninsulated. To meet current environmental expectations, it will now be insulated and capped with a new thin shell Ductal dome to preserve its appearance. back to life I have been working as a team member on this project for a number of years now and it is not surprising that many Edmontonians who grew up in the 1960s and ‘70s have confided to me how much this little building meant to them growing up. I think this is a factor of its provocative, optimistic design as well as the appeal of its entertaining programming. Appreciative memory is a common reaction to historic places, important in a time that seems somewhat chaotic and changing. Restoration should not be seen as a reversion to, or a preference for, nostalgia. The project could
David Murray
immersed in dark cold war politics as it simultaneously held a bright, optimistic outlook for the future. The reinstated Queen Elizabeth ll Planetarium will continue to serve more generations of young Canadians as they develop an appreciation for twenty-first century science and astronomy. This is one modern-era building that remains relevant and has proven to be sufficiently robust to indefinitely continue its role as nourishment for the imaginations of our children.
not sustain itself on nostalgia. Rather it is a brilliant confluence of fortuitous opportunity to meet a current municipally-supported need, provision for twenty-first century early childhood education and experience, while reusing a significantly historic building as it was originally intended. This building has defied the odds that have destroyed so many mid-century modern buildings. The common excuse is that they serve no new purpose and that rehabilitation and restoration would be too expensive. The 1960s was a period deeply
this page: New steel columns embedded in the curtainwall members. The dome of the Planetarium was capped in September 2019
facing page: Images show the degree of erosion of a 60 year old building, left unoccupied for 37 years. The plan shows the new washroom accomodation and access to the park. The curtainwall profile included the structural steel columns that support the roof.
David Murray is an architect in private practice in Edmonton. He has developed a specialty in conservation since starting his firm in 1984 which heritage projects throughout Alberta and in the Northwest Territories.
on site review 36: our material future
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