Photo by David Lasker
+VG Architects has welcomed the public to see the fruits of its 14-year renovation of historic St. Michael?s Cathedral, the principal church of Canada?s largest English-speaking Catholic archdiocese, located in the heart of Toronto at 65 Bond St.
The project is part of a series of extensive renovations by +VG Architects instigated by the Archdiocese of Toronto and further encouraged by Cardinal Thomas Collins, who arrived in 2007 and had a vision to develop the cathedral as a centre of evangelization. To that end, ?The cathedral should be a thing of beauty,? says architect Terrance White, Partner-in-Charge of the +VG Architects team at the cathedral, who was assisted by David Ecclestone, +VG Architects Partner and project architect. As the lead consultant, they worked with the archdiocese to create the renovation strategy and hire subcontractors. Perhaps the biggest renovation story of the 168-year-old cathedral, and the aspect that seems most to capture the public?s imagination, lies below ground. ?We excavated the crypt, where the first Bishop of Toronto, Michael Power, and other important figures in Toronto?s history are buried, and turned it into a formal crypt chapel,? White says.
For instance, on the north side is interred John Elmsley, a convert from the Anglican church, a director of the Bank of Upper Canada and a member of the Family Compact, whose father had been Chief Justice of Upper Canada.
Photo by David Lasker
?We expect the crypt chape...