2024 Heritage Calgary Awards

Winner of the 2024 Heritage Calgary Award,
Resource Conservation (Non-Residential):
Calgary Public Building

The Calgary Public Building was first completed in 1931 and was the federal government’s offices in Calgary until 1978. Today, the building houses the Jack Singer Concert Hall on Stephen Avenue in downtown Calgary. The award-winning project served to rehabilitat the north facade of the building, which faces Stephen Ave.

Heritage Calgary connected with Chris Zahaluk, Project Director specializing in heritage with LeMay who was contracted to oversee the rehabilitation of the building.

Can you describe the main goal of your initiative and the inspiration behind it?

The main goal of this project was to address the exterior envelope, especially focused on the north facade of this building. Throughout the years, there's been a certain amount of deterioration that has occurred on the building, as is natural with all heritage buildings. It was a time for a life cycle refresh, so there was a certain amount of maintenance and repair work that was required to maintain the continued use of the building.

What makes this project or site particularly significant to the local community and its history?

This project is important for its significance within the community as it essentially is a hub. This building has been within the community for a long time, opened in 1931. It's served various uses over time and continues to do so today. I think it has an important place not only within the city and within the local community but also within the context of Stephen Avenue, as it is like a bookend towards the end of the street. So there's a significant amount of heritage within this area, and the public building is a very iconic and massive building within that context.

How has this initiative helped engage the public or specific groups, such as youth or residents, in the project?

When we worked on this project, it had to be done in a certain time frame just based on the nature of the project and the funding that was used for it. We were tasked with jumping onto the building as fast as we could. We had to move to fit within seasonal requirements of the project.

So as much as there wasn't public engagement within the onset of the design work involved in this project, it being an envelope project, I think there is a certain element of public engagement that is continued through the use of this building and its maintained place within the community.

Why is it important for people to understand and appreciate the history and heritage of this particular area?

I think Stephen Avenue has a really important place within our community and our city. It was one of the early streets within Calgary as it grew into a city. It's been a long-standing area that is of visual interest, it serves as a reminder of what was, what has come, and what continues to change throughout the city. The Calgary Public Building is a good example of that. It served as a symbol of government and, at the time, was a gathering or meeting place as it housed the Post Office. It’s very fitting that the building still serves a purpose as a community hub or gathering place today.

This building offers a lot of potential. I think there's a lot to be gained from keeping a building like this and incorporating it within the community and the kind of space it creates for people.

What challenges or considerations did you face in preserving or promoting local heritage through this initiative?

One of the challenges was sourcing the needed stone for the project, which came from a single-source location within Canada that was used for public buildings. There were the requirements to have scaffolding for the entire height of the building to allow work to be ongoing and conduct preparation and conditioning for work to occur. It was tricky at times to maintain the curing temperatures, for example, required for the mortar and stonework.

Looking forward, how do you see this project continuing or evolving in the future to engage more people or further preserve local heritage?

The project focused primarily on the north facade of this building. There is a certain extension of that project that may continue to other facades over time. With any kind of heritage building, there's a need to perform periodic and cyclical maintenance to make sure that the heritage fabric is maintained in good working condition and can be enjoyed by others. Over time, there's going to be a certain amount of work that just inherently has to happen. The idea that we always want to emphasize is by doing minimal maintenance over time frequently, you can avoid large-scale work that requires the replacement of heritage fabric. 

The Heritage Calgary Awards celebrate the diverse heritage of our shared home. Every second year we honour those who have made efforts to identify, preserve, and promote heritage in Calgary to help enrich our communities.