some kind of treatment (cleaning,
structural fortification or replace-
ment).
“This highlights a key feature of the
conservation work,” says Bell. “The
goal is always to preserve and repair
existing material whenever possible,
rather than resort to replacement.”
One of the more innovative parts
of the project is actually hidden to
the public—the installation of a rain
management system, one of Bell’s
points of pride. “With our new rainwa-
ter management system, we are now
able to take the rainwater, which was
one of the major sources of deteriora-
tion, away from the building and pipe
it out into the stormwater system from
the building,” said Bell.
Despite the enormous amount of
pre-planning that was required for
this job, when you work on a build-
ing that’s over a century old, surprises
are always around the corner, like
the delightful day autographs of the
NOVEMBER 2018 | BUSINESS ELITE CANADA 9
