[Halifax] 1190 Barrington | ? m | 8 fl | U/C

[Dmajackson]

Staff is recommending that the Design Review Committee approve the proposal for 1190 Barrington Street located at the southwest corner of South Street. The proposal is to remove the existing office building and replace it with a 8 storey building containing 86 residential units, ground floor commercial along Barrington and townhouse-style units along Tobin and South.

Case 21134 - 1190 Barrington Street

This is the existing office building that will be demolished;


Halifax Developments Blog (Photo by David Jackson)

[Keith P.]

I always liked that building.

The new design is not particularly inspiring.

[Drybrain]

The new building is extremely hideous and unworthy of the location, though that's in keeping with what's happening kitty-corner on South Street.

The old building is kind of cool. The new proposal has a five storey main mass and then a three-storey glass cube on top. I'd rather they just stick the cube on top of the existing building.

It's unfortunate that we're surrounding one of the downtown's best public spaces with some of the worst new buildings.

[Phalanx]

Yeah, the proposed building has 90s business park aesthetic to it. Really not something that belongs in the here and now and in a prime spot downtown. Repurposing and adding to to the existing building would definitely be preferable (assuming the structure could support it, but it looks sturdy...). Reconfigure the main floor - keep the main entrance but add some glass and additional entrances for retail, add a modern addition on top etc.

[Jstaleness]

I worked here in the early 2000's when Minacs was there. I remember the building seeming older and in need of upgrades. Not sure if it can structurally handle additions or expansion. My hope is that it could.

[Dmajackson]

There is an updated proposal for this going to Design Review Committee next week for approval. It appears to be basically the same just red brick and aluminum curtain wall for the exterior now.

Case 24497 Substantive SPA for 1190 Barrington Street

[someone123]

One wonders what the design review committee is doing if they allow large blocks of aluminum curtain wall a few storeys above Barrington Street, fronting onto the park.

This has aged pretty badly. Since the original post we have seen new proposals like the Elmwood and Waverley Inn. In addition to looking better, those buildings have a historic reuse component.

HRM says they care about climate change but they don't seem to care much about the energy involved in poor maintenance followed by the replacement of buildings like this with slightly larger newer structures when there are empty lots and parking lots all over the city.

[OldDartmouthMark]

Pretty uninspiring for sure. I agree with the above posters that at least the facade of the older building should have been kept.

I find mid-century buildings like this have a really interesting style, a nice rhythm to the design with good use of materials. Yet seem to go unappreciated, and not considered 'historical' in any sense, perhaps because they aren't 'old enough' or are not considered to be significant since they are not from one of the the traditional historical architecture periods, i.e. Victorian, etc.(?)

Anyhow, even if the old building won't be kept in some way, at least it should be replaced by something that is at least as nice. This one is a definite disappointment. Yet another Halifax architecture failure...

[Saul Goode]

Originally Posted by OldDartmouthMark

Pretty uninspiring for sure...Anyhow, even if the old building won't be kept in some way, at least it should be replaced by something that is at least as nice.

That immediately reminded me of something (then) Prince Charles said several yeas ago when addressing a roomful of planners at a dinner in London: "You have to give this much to the Luftwaffe. When it knocked down our buildings, it didn't replace them with anything more offensive than rubble. We did that."

I am anything but a fan of Chuck III (or the monarchy in general) but I've always loved that line.

[OldDartmouthMark]

By coincidence, the link provided by someone123 in the "Old Halifax" thread today provided a view of this lot in 1947:



Halifax - Nova Scotian Hotel - park in front of hotel.

[OldDartmouthMark]

One more "historical shot" of the lot from 1952 - at the left side of the photo you can see that the house in the previous post has been removed, presumably in preparation for the building that is now about to be demolished.



N.S. - Halifax - Nova Scotian Hotel & part of city.

Zoomed in a little:

[OldDartmouthMark]

Originally Posted by Saul Goode

That immediately reminded me of something (then) Prince Charles said several yeas ago when addressing a roomful of planners at a dinner in London: "You have to give this much to the Luftwaffe. When it knocked down our buildings, it didn't replace them with anything more offensive than rubble. We did that."

I am anything but a fan of Chuck III (or the monarchy in general) but I've always loved that line.

Great quote!

[Keith P.]

Originally Posted by OldDartmouthMark

Pretty uninspiring for sure. I agree with the above posters that at least the facade of the older building should have been kept.

I find mid-century buildings like this have a really interesting style, a nice rhythm to the design with good use of materials. Yet seem to go unappreciated, and not considered 'historical' in any sense, perhaps because they aren't 'old enough' or are not considered to be significant since they are not from one of the the traditional historical architecture periods, i.e. Victorian, etc.(?)

Anyhow, even if the old building won't be kept in some way, at least it should be replaced by something that is at least as nice. This one is a definite disappointment. Yet another Halifax architecture failure...

I could not agree more. I quite liked the original building's design. The thing being proposed as its replacement looks like something that could have been constructed out in Uteck-land 20 years ago. Totally uninspiring design.

[LikesBikes]

I find the existing building on the site quite nice. Too bad they can't just keep as is and convert it to residential.

[Empire]

If this building is built as shown it will look like a plastic box. So out of sync for this area. The design review committee should be able to address the negative impact of such designs. As mentioned, the existing building has more to offer in terms of appearance than a plastic box that looks like a hotel in an industrial park.

[Hali87]

Yeah I agree that it would have been nicer to just convert the existing building to residential, at least keeping the shell and maybe adding some additional floors on top. I wonder if asbestos is a factor that made that less practical/economical somehow - it might be a bit more complicated to "partially deconstruct" buildings from that era, depending on which of their building materials contain asbestos.

[OldDartmouthMark]

From the 1960s. Never realized it was used as Navy headquarters at one time.

Caption:

Item consists of a view of Cornwallis Park with the statue of Cornwallis as seen from one of the upper floors of the Nova Scotian Hotel. South, Barrington, and Tobin Streets can all be seen in the photograph, with the Royal Canadian Navy Operation headquarters in the upper middle of the photograph.

Source

[Keith P.]

Originally Posted by OldDartmouthMark

From the 1960s. Never realized it was used as Navy headquarters at one time.

I believe the caption is wrong. The Navy used the building on the upper right of the pic. The building in the center was Imperial Oil offices originally.

[ns_kid]

Originally Posted by Keith P.

I believe the caption is wrong. The Navy used the building on the upper right of the pic. The building in the center was Imperial Oil offices originally.

As Keith says, the building that stood on the northwest corner of Barrington and South -- now 5217 South Street -- was the site of the eastern command of the RCAF and, later, the joint navy-air force Canadian Northwest Atlantic Command, during WWII, according to the Halifax Military Heritage and Preservation Society. Before that it was the site of the Sailors Home and Navy League.

According to the Halifax South heritage district plan, the current building at 1190 Barrington Street was built circa 1986, which is clearly wrong, as Mark's photos (and the memories of us oldtimers) can attest. It's been there as long as I can recall, which would be early 60s, and for many years it carried the Imperial Oil Limited sign above the door (faintly visible in Mark's last photo). According to the plan document, Imperial Oil owned the property from 1939 until 1971, after which it was acquired by One Sackville Place Ltd., a.k.a. Ralph Medjuck. It's quite possible Imperial remained a tenant there for some time.

I found it amusing that the heritage plan's author, apparently believing this is a 1980's building, suggests that it "is constructed of historic looking materials. This includes antiqued bricking and single-hung 'factory' windows, which complements the historic buildings along the surrounding streetscapes. In addition the material includes concrete with distressed texture to give the appearance of historic sandstone."

I have also found this to be an attractive mid-20th century structure and I'll miss it. It points out the subjective nature of historical preservation. At what age or at whose conception of significance does a building become worthy of conservation? It disappoints me how many structures of commercial and industrial significance have been lost in this province with nary a whimper from heritage advocates, even as they fight to protect vacant lots from the scourge of high buildings.

[OldDartmouthMark]

Great catch, guys. Thanks for the info. That's what I get for trusting notes from the Halifax archives. It can be like the proverbial Forrest Gump box of chocolates, sometimes.

I recall the discussion here about the building in the upper right of the photo, which was an interesting one indeed, and another one replaced with a disappointing structure (to use the kindest words possible).

I don't recall this one being Imperial Oil offices, but then during that period of time I spent most of my days haunting 'old Dartmouth'...