Doherty-Fitzpatrick Heritage House

The Doherty-Fitzpatrick Heritage House was constructed between 1851 and 1861.

It is an excellent example of a Neo-Classical farmhouse, featuring detailing and craftsmanship of a high order with a symmetrical front façade and fenestration with distinctive “Flemish Bond” brick patterning, decorative frieze, eave returns, and gable trim, a central entrance featuring transom and sidelights with elegant tracery, and a centre hall plan.

+VG Architects was retained in 2019 by the City of Brampton to provide a feasibility study and cost estimate for the conversion of the heritage house to an Early-ON Child and Family Centre, and to provide architectural services through construction contract administration. The project includes a 500 ft2 addition at the rear that is designed to be distinct and subordinate to the original heritage building. Interior renovations include upgrading the structure, accessibility, mechanical, electrical fire and life safety systems to accommodate the change of use from Residential to Assembly occupancy. The project construction cost is below the budget. The Doherty-Fitzpatrick Heritage House was vacant for more than 10 years before this project.

LOCATION

Brampton, Ontario

COMPLETED

2021

SIZE

14,980 ft² (including 500 ft² new addition)

SERVICES

Feasibility Study
Adaptive Re-Use
Accessibility Improvements

CATEGORIES

Heritage
Educational

PHOTOGRAPHY

David Whittaker


Oakville Museum Coach House

The official opening of the picturesque, Shingle Style Oakville Coach House in 2022 marked the completion by +VG Architects of the adaptive reuse of the Erchless Estate, a cultural heritage property designated under Part IV of the Ontario Heritage Act as an intact surviving example of an estate developed by a wealthy settler family.

This ensemble of historic buildings on an elevated natural embankment overlooking Lake Ontario, the mouth of Oakville Harbour, and Sixteen Mile Creek, comprises the Custom House (1856); the Italianate-style residence (1858), former home of several generations of the town’s founding Chisholm family and restored as the Oakville Museum by +VG in 1991; the post office (1835); and the Coach House (1901).

The 5,150 ft2 Coach House, the most elegant building on the site, was designed by the Toronto-based architectural firm Dick and Wickson around 1899. The building is in three-parts: horse stables and tack area, coach storage and hayloft; a two-storey gardener’s cottage; and a linking storage area. The exterior charms the eye with eclectic features such as the steeply pitched cross-gable roof and its irregular slopes, eyebrow dormers, bell-cast and bowed projections, shingled cupola, and bay window and mullioned windows.
The project mandate was to:

  • Create a multi-purpose public venue and restore the gardener’s cottage;
  • Strengthen links and enhance visual access to the Coach House;
  • Enhance the indoor and outdoor connection and presence of the Coach House in the Oakville Museum campus;
  • Harmonize the landscape design with the larger Erchless campus and broader park, river, lake and road settings;
  • Integrate path systems, wayfinding and visual accessibility from within and outside the museum campus;
  • Protect the archeological and cultural heritage significance of the Coach House and surrounding grounds;
  • Change the building’s use from storage to assembly occupancy.

Bringing the building up to current accessibility standards necessitated interior renovations such as door and washroom access improvements.

LOCATION

Oakville, Ontario

COMPLETED

2022

SIZE

5,100 ft²

SERVICES

Adaptive Re-Use

CATEGORIES

Heritage
Museums

PHOTOGRAPHY

David Lasker

PRESS

Oakville Coach House
OAHP Newsletter


Two-storey administration building on a sunny day

David Dunlap Observatory & Administration Building

The David Dunlap Observatory (DDO), one of Richmond Hill’s most iconic buildings and the largest telescope in Canada, was recently restored and revitalized by +VG to better serve the many patrons that visit these buildings every year.

The Observatory and the Administration Building were constructed circa 1935 and were owned and operated by the University of Toronto until 2008. Work included a Building Condition Assessment and restoration of the exteriors of both the Observatory and the Administration Building.

Upon completion of the revitalization of these buildings, the DDO had many important heritage elements restored to continue to provide public education and outreach, and play a key part in the transformation of the park into a major destination that will serve the residents of Richmond Hill and attract visitors from across the GTA. The goal of the project was to shape the way people experience David Dunlap Observatory Park, preserve a proud part of Canada’s astronomical research heritage, and to make this star of the City shine bright once again.

LOCATION

Richmond Hill, Ontario

COMPLETED

2021

SIZE

21,000 ft²

SERVICES

Building Condition Assessment & Renovation

CATEGORIES

Heritage
Institutional

PHOTOGRAPHY

David Lasker

AWARDS

2022 Award of Excellence, Conservation – Materials, Craftsmanship & Construction
Canadian Association of Heritage Professionals (CAHP)


Ontario Court of Justice Toronto

The New Toronto Courthouse is a 17-storey tower courthouse that, when completed, will be the largest courthouse in Ontario. The project site has a rich history dating back to the 1840’s, with the last pre-existing building on the site having been demolished in the 1980’s. At that time heritage foundations and other elements were encapsulated under a parking lot.

In 2016, Infrastructure Ontario (IO) began an extensive Archaeological excavation of the site leading to the discovery of thousands of historical artifacts and the mapping of the lost footprints of many former buildings and structures, and the publication of two books. EllisDon retained +VG to navigate the complex approvals process with Infrastructure Ontario, the Ministry of the Attorney General (MAG), and the City of Toronto and to provide community consultation related to the heritage interpretation. +VG led consultations with:

  • The Heritage Interpretation Working Group set up by the City of Toronto,
  • The MAG Indigenous Elders’ Council, and
  • Separate Indigenous consultation meetings with Six Nations, Huron-Wendat, and Mississaugas of the New Credit First Nation.

+VG’s challenge as the heritage architect was to provide heritage commemoration and interpretation on a site where all heritage material had been removed by the archaeological investigations or by the excavations for the courthouse. A multi-faceted heritage interpretation strategy was developed to engage the public as they approach the site and continuing through into the interior of the courthouse in the large glazed public atrium. The broad on-site Heritage Interpretation Strategy Included:

  • Site hoarding with heritage interpretation and graphic displays
  • Bronze inlay markers and plaques cast into the sidewalks and plaza spaces surrounding the courthouse
  • Three large stainless steel interpretation signage panels in the exterior plaza
  • Marker date stone and interpretative panel for the former British Methodist Episcopal Church (BME Church)
  • Full scale graphic window display commemorating the façade of the BME Church at its original location
  • Interior graphic explanatory panels
  • Archaeological artifacts display case for rotating exhibits
  • Digital information touch-screen kiosk
  • Heritage wall display of historic photographs, maps, and artifacts

Extensive coordination for the Heritage Interpretation Strategy was provided by +VG with the design team: architectural, archaeological, graphic communications, landscape, and lighting. Deliverables included the Heritage Impact Assessment (HIA), Heritage Interpretation Design Plan (HIDP), and Site Plan Application approvals.

LOCATION

Toronto, Ontario

CLIENT

Infrastructure Ontario (IO)

COMPLETED

2022

SIZE

775,000 ft²

SERVICES

Heritage Consulting Services

CATEGORY

Institutional

PHOTOGRAPHY

David Ecclestone (+VG Architects)


85 Richmond Street West

85 Richmond Street West c.1923 was originally lauded for its high-quality offices and cutting-edge construction technology.

By the new millennium, the building was in need of significant rehabilitation work. Planned in relation to the construction of the adjacent EY Tower, the revitalization of the building by Oxford Properties has created new prestigious energy-efficient office space that highlights the character-defining heritage features of the building. Upgrades to the building include the sensitive insertion of a distinct addition within the lightwell of the Chicago School U-shaped plan, improvements to the exterior building envelope for environmental sustainability and energy efficiency, modern mechanical and electrical systems, building automation, and streamlined PATH connection to an enlarged ground floor lobby opening to the plaza at the west.

The heritage conservation scope includes:

  • Heritage Impact Assessment, Conservation Plan, and Heritage Interpretation Plan
  • Reinstatement of the Beaux-Arts style cornice at the roof using pressed and soldered lead-coated copper (the original was removed in the early 1950’s)
  • Reinstatement of original fenestration and spandrel details at the base to accentuate the historical proportional division of the façade
  • Conservation and upgrades to the original wood windows at the second floor
  • Masonry conservation of exterior white glazed brick and limestone principal heritage facades
  • Reconstruction of rear masonry facades
  • Decorative lead-coated copper belt courses and flashing
  • Exterior heritage lighting
  • Conservation of the heritage lobby and bronze entrance


St. Michael's Cathedral Exterior Envelope & Tower

Between 2010 and 2017, as part of the Masterplan for the rehabilitation of St. Michael’s Cathedral, +VG Architects undertook a comprehensive, phased building envelope conservation project on the landmark 1847 Gothic Revival building.

All exterior building elements and systems were addressed, including traditional slate roofing, brick and sandstone masonry, metalwork and wood windows and structural elements. Beginning in 2010 with the West Facade and Tower, the work continued around the exterior over the next 6 years. Initial surveying, testing and analysis was done to assess and define the scope of Conservation work required. Further and more extensive investigative work was done from scaffolding, before decisions were made on a case by case basis for the appropriate conservation and repair methodology for each building element. Detailed conservation work such as fine cleaning, consolidation, and detailed repairs to maintain and stabilize the intricate carved sandstone were carried out on all of the many decorative stone features.

Structural stabilization of the original wood structural members, and of high-level masonry elements such as Gothic pinnacles, Stone Crosses and Carved Cornice stones was required. Where appropriate, restoration of lost detail was carried out- for example at the Upper Tower where conditions were extremely deteriorated and major interventions were required to stabilize and make safe the masonry; and, on the roofing where a version of the original slate roofing pattern, previously removed- was restored on the replacement roof.

The ability to react to unforeseen conditions, and to work closely with Conservators, Structural Engineers and Tradespeople were essential to ensure that the needs of the Client were met, and the historic fabric of the building is preserved and maintained for future generations. The work has been carried out to the highest of international conservation standards, with the aim being to always meet or exceeded the Parks Canada Guidelines for the Repair of Historic Places in every aspect. The Work has received recognition with Heritage Toronto awards in 2013 and 2017, as well as having been shortlisted for the Best International project at the Brick Awards in London, England in 2013.

LOCATION

Toronto, Ontario

COMPLETED

2017

SIZE

22,400 ft²

SERVICES

Master Planning & Conservation

CATEGORIES

Heritage
Institutional

PHOTOGRAPHY

Concrete Pictures

AWARDS

2019 Ecclesiastical Insurance Cornerstone Award
National Trust for Canada

2017 Craftsmanship & Conservation Award
(Nave & East Chancel Window)
Heritage Toronto

2013 Craftsmanship Award
(Honourable Mention)
(West Façade & Tower Conservation)
Heritage Toronto

2007 Craftsmanship Award
Canadian Association of Heritage Professionals (CAHP)


View of Nave from Alter with wood pews, organ on balcony, stained glass windows and vaulted ceiling

St. Francis of Assisi

Originally designed by Arthur William Homes in 1914, the construction of St. Francis of Assisi was completed in 1915.

Located in the heart of Little Italy, the church accommodates 900 people. The Nave, composed of a sequence of vaulted ceilings, allows daylight to come in through the stained glass windows, generating an array of colours as you navigate the space.

As part of the intervention, a new slate roof was installed and the plaster ceiling was completely restored. The interior paint scheme was restored to a monochromatic paint scheme from 1945 to allow the colours from the stained glass windows to be magnified within the Nave. The decoration intensifies in the Transepts and into the Sanctuary to emphasize the importance of that sacred space and the beauty of the East stained glass window. The entire Sanctuary area was restored to its original design with the reconstruction of the wood reredos screen as the backdrop of the Altar and the removal of the mosaic wall installed in 1972 during a previous intervention that concealed the East wall. The East stained glass window was reinstated to its original glory and two Guido Nincheri frescos were unveiled and restored along with all the East wall artwork. The restoration of the coffered ceiling artwork over the Sanctuary was donated by a parishioner of the Italian community in memory of his late wife, proving this project to be essential to the community and possessing immense value to its parishioners.

LOCATION

Toronto, Ontario

DESIGNATED

Ontario Heritage Listed Building

COMPLETED

2018

SIZE

11,530 ft²

SERVICES

Restoration

PHOTOGRAPHY

David Henderson (+VG Architects)


St. John's Chapel Atrium, St. Michael's Cathedral

The St. John’s Chapel Atrium is +VG’s contemporary addition to the complex of heritage buildings from different eras, which together, make up the St. Michael’s Cathedral site.

Above grade, the Atrium is a modern multipurpose space, creating a cloister-like link between the 1890s Chapel, the administrative and residential accommodation of the 1845 Rectory, and the early 20th Century Sacristies – the ancillary spaces serving the main worship space of the Cathedral Nave. On the exterior, the palette of materials has been carefully chosen to complement that of the existing buildings and maintain the continuity between the different eras represented on site. The interior is simple and reverent, with fair-faced concrete block, wood and slate providing a backdrop to the conserved west façade of St. John’s Chapel and a stained-glass window, relocated from its original home in the Cathedral’s Narthex, which are highlighted as the main visual features of the space. The west façade opens out through tall glazed doors onto a summer terrace under a glass canopy, creating a transitional space between the Atrium interior and the quiet gardens of the Rectory.

Below grade, the Atrium addition contains a new 3,000 ft² basement housing a state-of-the-art Central Utilities plant, providing modern heating, cooling and power systems which have been discretely distributed and integrated throughout the whole complex. This coordination and integration of services has been a key part of +VG’s work at St. Michael’s Cathedral, maintaining the character-defining qualities of the existing heritage buildings, while providing them with the environmental control and high-tech infrastructure of a modern facility, all of which must have been unthinkable at the time the Cathedral was originally built.

LOCATION

Toronto, Ontario

COMPLETED

2018

SIZE

4,800 ft²

SERVICES

Renovation & Addition

CATEGORIES

Heritage
Institutional

PHOTOGRAPHY

David Henderson (+VG Architects)