PROJECT Windsor Public Library?John Muir Branch, Windsor, Ontario
ARCHITECT studio g+G inc.
PHOTOS Jason Grossi
The adaptive reuse included the transformation of the fire hall?s hose tower into a glass lantern lookout.
Established in 1797, Olde Sandwich Towne is located on the west side of Windsor, and is home to some of Ontario?s oldest heritage buildings. One of those gems is the 1921 Windsor Fire Hall No. 6, and its adjoining mid-nineteenth-century stable?one of few to survive from the era when fire engines were pulled by horses. In 2016, the City of Windsor and Windsor Public Library Board purchased both buildings, aiming to adaptively reuse them for a new library space.
For locals, the resulting John Muir Branch is more than a useful community amenity, and a sensitive piece of heritage restoration?it?s a work of art in itself. A suspended bridge links to the former horse stable and negotiates a change in level between the two historic buildings.
The project was designed by architect Jason Grossi of Studio g+G and completed by Intrepid General Limited contractors. The contractors lived up to their name, as the project proved complex from the start. The sandy soil of the building site haunted the team throughout the project, requiring foundation underpinning and shoring to support a new elevator. The disparate floor elevations of the fire hall and stable also created challenges: in the contemporary addition that links the two historic structures, a suspended walkway on ...