From the past for the future: construction contracting keeps our heritage alive

Summit, Nov 2003 by Brimmell, George

Gardner says PWGSC "typically goes out on the street, says 'here's the requirement... come one, come all.' But we want to ensure there's a certain skill level and we can do that through a pre-qualification process."

Enter the architect, very much a key player in the enterprise. Four architectural firms are jointly involved. One of these is Ogilvie and Hogg, of Ottawa, and architect Mike Hogg suggested pre-qualifying sub-trades to ensure that the general contractors bidding for the massive job would have the essential skills and artisans required for the project. PWGSC agreed.

The pre-qualifying procedure ensures that the needed artisans are located and skillful enough to work on the restoration.

"Masonry is always a problem, particularly stone, especially when it has deteriorated," Hogg says. "It takes special skills to do [that sort of restoration and conservation] work. So under this pre-qualification procedure, the general contractor who would be hired had to find a mason who was qualified in doing that sort of work. He also had to carry a specialized wood carver, a specialized wood conservator (the two are different) and a specialist in leaded glass, among other things, as well as specialists skilled in copper roofing."

"We had about eight applications, and ended up with five acceptable bidders. We had to be satisfied that they all had access to these specialties and had the experience to undertake this important project," says Hogg.

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Example of damage (efflorescence - seen as a powdery deposit) on the stone arches.

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"But we were still a bit cautious, so when we prepared the tender documents on which the five contestants bid we included a lot of qualifications for conservators and specialists. For example, they had to have at least 10 years' experience, had to provide mock-ups and/or samples of their work, before undertaking any work on the building."

Accordingly, the architects wrote a set of specific requirements that had to be met by conservationists.... To meet the criteria, each individual had to submit examples of their work, or in the case of library wood-carvers, had to do a carving and submit a mock-up - one being submitted from as far away as Russia. And, says Hogg, "If that didn't meet the specs, it was 'Sorry, Mr. Contractor, you don't have the right person.' [After all], when you're into that sort of conservation work, you've got to do it properly. It is an important part of our architectural heritage."

Though it's by no means the biggest job his firm has tackled, "it's the biggest in terms of complexity," says Hogg

He notes that at the time of the Library's 1952 post-fire renovation, "conservation was not a big thing. As a result, much of the original building was lost which didn't have to be lost." So he and his partners are trying to bring back some of those lost elements such as translucent glass floors at the gallery level and etched glass panels at the end of the book stacks.

Most PWGSC projects are advertised through the MERX. But, says Gardner, "you won't find a stained glass trade, you won't find heritage masonry, you won't find a blacksmith... because, as much as we want to preserve our heritage, there isn't a whole lot of heritage across the country."