Canadian Association of Heritage Professionals announce award recipients

Eleven Canadian projects, as well as the people who worked on them, were honoured at this year’s Canadian Association of Heritage Professionals (CAHP) awards.

CAHP is a professional organization that serves qualified heritage professionals in the public, private and not-for-profit sectors. The annual awards competition celebrates preservation, restoration and conservation work in areas including archaeology, architecture, engineering, craftsmanship, education and planning.

Three Lifetime Achievement Awards, an Emerging Heritage Professional Award, and a Student Achievement Award were also presented by the Canadian Association of Heritage Professionals. 

“Heritage conservation is climate action,” Christienne Uchiyama, president of the Canadian Association of Heritage Professionals. “These awards celebrate heritage professionals’ efforts to rehabilitate, revitalize, and reuse existing buildings and spaces. The people who adapt and conserve existing buildings are playing a significant role in reducing greenhouse gas emissions and addressing climate change.”

Award-winning projects include:

• Toronto, Ontario: A team who carefully restored and updated Massey Hall, one of Canada’s most iconic entertainment venues, during a seven-year revitalization project was presented an Award of Excellence in the Conservation – Architecture category. Additionally, a heritage planning team from the City of Toronto were recognized for their work on the Danforth Avenue Planning Study, which surveyed all properties fronting Danforth Avenue between Coxwell Avenue and the Don River, were presented an Award of Merit in the Planning and Documentation category.  

• Calgary, Alberta: Restoration of a 1919-built school, which served as an education hub for more than 90 years, won an Award of Excellence in the Conservation – Architecture category. Restoring the Holy Angels School included restoring windows and shingles, repairing damaged brickwork, installing doors appropriate to the school’s era, revitalizing the entrance way, rehabilitating the copula on the roof, improving roofing and rehabilitating mortar masonry. 

• Montreal, Quebec: A team who restored the 130-year-old Windsor train station building, which has since transformed into an office building, were presented an Award of Merit in the Conservation – Architecture category. The restoration project team replaced 1,115 wood-framed windows, rebuilt the north tower, rehabilitated the masonry on all facades, and restored the ornaments on the south tower (copper roofing on turrets), including woodwork, doors, cast-iron frames and bronze hardware.  

Additionally, a team who developed a conservation plan for Parc Jean-Drapeau received an Award of Excellence in the Documentation and Planning category.  

• Regina, Saskatchewan: The Darke Hall restoration efforts, a 1929-built theatre and cultural venue, won an Award of Merit in the Conservation Architecture category. Darke Hall, which served as a cultural hub at the University of Regina for more than 80 years, was revitalized by work that included extending the stage, renewing the slate roof, restoring stained glass windows, rebuilding a front staircase, returning decorative gold stencilled painting, and making the building accessible, while maintaining the building’s historic character. 

• Ottawa, Ontario: Three years of rehabilitation and upgrading work on the century-old Ottawa New Edinburgh Club Boathouse won a team of heritage professionals an Award of Merit in the Conservation Engineering category. Restoration efforts, which were done on this building situated on an open body of water, included insulating the building to make it available for all-season use, restoring doors, replacing or repairing deteriorated siding and windows, improving accessibility and installing a lift. 

Additionally, rehabilitation efforts of Roper House, home of the Anglican Diocese of Ottawa offices, won an Award of Merit in the Small and Lovely category. Restoration efforts included repairing and rehabilitating deteriorating masonry work, replacing roofing, upgrading windows and adjusting the entrance to be accessible. 

• Richmond Hill, Ontario: Restoration work on the 90-year-old David Dunlap Observatory buildings won an Award of Excellence in the Conservation: Materials, Craftsmanship & Construction category. Restoration work on the Observatory and administration buildings included addressing metal damage and rust caused by condensation moisture in the metal domes and installing working windows to prevent future issues. 

• Windsor, Ontario: A project to restore the exterior of a former County Courthouse, now an arts and event rental space, was presented an Award of Merit in the Conservation: Materials, Craftsmanship & Construction category. Restoration efforts at Mackenzie Hall focused on masonry and mortar work on the building’s stone walls. 

• Medicine Hat, Alberta: Restoration work to conserve and move the 1912-built McKenzie Sharland Grocery in the city’s North Flats neighbourhood won an Award of Excellence in the Small & Lovely category. The award recognizes an extensive eight-year restoration process to address flood damage from 2013 and to designate the building as a municipal heritage resource.  

Architects Graeme Duffus of Halifax, Donald Luxton of Vancouver and the late Peter Stewart of Toronto were each recipient of a Lifetime Achievement Award for their contributions to the field of heritage conservation.  

“The Canadian Association of Heritage Professionals believes in the invaluable role of celebrating the work of our members through our annual awards program. This year, we are especially pleased to highlight three CAHP members with the Lifetime Achievement Award for their outstanding contribution to the conservation of heritage in Canada,” said Christienne Uchiyama, president of the Canadian Association of Heritage Professionals. 

Cynthia Aleman, a Quebec-city architect, was presented with an Emerging Heritage Professional Award, while Ben Daub, a second-year Master of Arts in Planning student enrolled in the University of Waterloo, was recognized for his research into urban heritage conservation and the role stakeholder evaluations play in selecting various heritage interventions.  

“Historic places are community markers. They are spaces that may hold a variety of meanings to different individuals; but they help us understand where we have come from and who we are as a society,” Uchiyama said.