Will Winnipeg Architecture Be Left to Crumble?
Announcement posted by DesignBuild Source 11 Jul 2012
The notion of preserving Canada’sarchitecturalhistory has made waves recently as heritage preservation groups lobby to save community icons that are slowly becoming dilapidated.
While Calgary’s iconic skyscraper theBarron Buildingserved as the topic of industry debate as it faces possible demolition due to neglect, a smaller-scale building in Winnipeg is also set to go under the axe in favour of a new multi-family residential development.
The former St. Boniface police station has been put up for sale for just under half a million dollars, with online documents suggesting new owners must demolish the landmark building and replace it with the aforementioned multi-residential building.
This spate of ‘replace and renew’ architectural developments has left some critics wondering about the industry’s commitment to culturally important architecture and whether demolish and rebuild practices will continue to increase.
According to the building’s original architect, Etienne Gaboury, the old police station has cultural importance because it stands as an architectural prototype for the Winnipeg region. He states that with so much of the region’s heritage architecture falling into disrepair and facing demolition, the local industry seems to be showing a complete disregard to its built roots.