Toronto-based architectural firm GBCA (GoldsmithBorgal & Company Ltd. Architects) received three awards in October after serving as heritage consultant on the $184 million Massey Hall Revitalization Project.
The firm was honoured with the Award of Excellence (Conservation – Architecture) by the Canadian Association of Heritage Professionals, the Special Jury Award by the Architecture Conservancy of Ontario and the 2022 Crafts and Trades Award by Heritage Toronto for restoring and revitalizing the city’s performance venue.
“We are truly grateful for the recognition,” says Christopher Borgal, President and Senior Principal at GBCA. “For us, what mattered was striking the right balance between preserving the Hall’s heritage fabric while making room for it to be modernized. It was a collaborative effort on part of the various teams involved that helped us preserve the Hall’s unique architectural identity.”
To help various teams working on the project, GBCA working alongside lead architects KPMB, designed a conservation strategy that became the guiding map for revitalizing the 128-year-old Hall. The goal of the project was to undertake much needed improvements to the Hall while protecting the original building’s key heritage elements, which include.
“We are grateful to GBCA for the pivotal role they played in our restoration of Massey Hall, one of the country’s most cherished heritage assets, ensuring it will continue to make history one concert at a time for future generations,” says Grant Troop, Vice President of Operations at The Corporation of Massey Hall and Roy Thomson Hall. “We are delighted for the widespread acclaim that GBCA, and the local skilled artisans who worked alongside them, have received in restoring the beauty of the original hall. The entire design and construction team shares in this praise for respecting the architecture of the original hall while at the same time modernizing the way it connects with patrons.”
Project Credits:
Heritage Consultant – GBCA
Architecture and Interior Design – KPMB Architects
Sub-consultants and trade
Eve Guinan – CAHP*, Eve Guinan Design Restoration (Stained Glass)
John Wilcox – CAHP, Vitreous Glassworks (Stained Glass)
Jean-Francois Furieri – CAHP
Iconoplast Designs Inc. (Plaster Restoration)
Eric Stewart – CAHP, Historic Plaster ConservationServices (Plaster Restoration – Assessment)
Fiona Graham – CAHP (Conservator)
Sam Trigila – CAHP, Clifford Restoration (Heritage Contractor)
Charcoalblue (Theatre)
Sound Space Vision (Acoustics)
Entuitive (Structural)
Entuitive (Building envelope)
The Mitchell Partnership Inc. (Mechanical)
Crossey Engineering Ltd. (Electrical)
Crossey Engineering Ltd. (Security & I.T.)
Martin Conboy Lighting Design (Architectural lighting)
Bhandari & Plater Inc. (Signage& graphics)
Engineering Harmonics Inc. (Audio-visual)
LRI (Code/fire& life-safety)
NAK Design Group (Landscape)
Anjinnov Management (Food services)
BA Consulting Group Ltd. (Transportation)
Turner & Townsend (Project management & cost consultancy)
Reich & Petch (Exhibit design)
Total Opening Consultants (Hardware)
Pro-Bel (Façade access systems)
WSP (Civil engineering) ç
*CAHP – Canadian Association of Heritage Professionals