The Citizen, 2019-01-03, Page 8PAGE 8. THE CITIZEN, THURSDAY, JANUARY 3, 2019.
The theme of the fall, 2018 issue of
the ACORN magazine of the
Architectural Conservancy of
Ontario (ACO) www.acontario.ca ,
was “Bricks and Mortar: The craft
of heritage conservation.
This issue includes articles about
restoration work on sandstone and
terra cotta exteriors, Ancaster Town
Hall, Addison’s Temple of Treasures
(a Toronto retail store that sells
reclaimed building parts), Trinity
United Church in Kitchener, painted
stained glass windows, Beaverdam
Church in Thorold, pressed metal
façade on the Petrie building in
Guelph, uncovering layers of time in
existing buildings, and, last but not
least, an article entitled “Carnegie’s
Legacy Respected” about the
restoration and expansion of the
Brussels Carnegie Library written
by Blyth-based architect and
Brussels native John Rutledge.
During the late 1800s and early
1900s, over 100 libraries were
built in Ontario with Carnegie
library grants. Two of these were in
Seaforth and Brussels. James
Bertram, who administered
Carnegie’s grants from Pittsburgh,
married Janet Tod Ewing, originally
from Seaforth. Both are buried in
Maitland Bank Cemetery near the
village of Seaforth.
The guidelines for the Carnegie
grants generated architecturally
similar library buildings with almost
all of them including an exterior
staircase to ascend to knowledge and
symmetrical facades with rusticated
plinth bases, classical columns,
pilasters, entablatures and traditional
detailing.
The 2014 expansion of the 1909
Brussels Library had to meet the
requirements of the Huron County
Library, which operates the facility,
and the Municipality of Huron East,
which owns it. Huron County
wanted a facility with no interior
walls. Huron East wanted barrier-
free accessibility without the costs of
an elevator. The general public
wanted the lowered ceilings and
boarded up transom windows
reinstated for more natural light.
Everyone agreed the historic
architectural character building was
to be respected.
As the library is on a corner lot,
the municipal sidewalks varied from
five to seven feet below the main
floor level. An addition with an
interior ramp was proposed, but the
increased size and cost eliminated
that idea. Several proposals were
investigated using an exterior ramp
and new entrance off the side street,
with none of them meeting anyone’s
approval.
After much deliberation, it was
decided that the entrance should be
off Turnberry Street, Brussels’ main
street, adjacent to the town’s
commercial core. This favorably
generated the final design leading to
resolution of the addition’s floor
plan, and 60-foot-long exterior
entrance ramp. This created a
welcoming entrance along the side
of the old building into a new rear
addition. The classical pediment at
the library’s original corner entrance
became a new adult reading room.
Most of the library’s original
interior was visually open with
rooms separated by large panes of
glass set into wood-wainscoted and
wood-framed panels.
We were able to maintain all of the
original glazed paneled walls,
opening up three smaller rooms that
had solid walls with wide open
archways, and one large open
archway between the original
building and the addition.
During the 1970s, the ceiling was
dropped to potentially make the
building easier to heat. The original
transom windows above the double-
hung windows were boarded up to
accommodate the lowered ceiling.
This previous renovation lowered
natural light levels in the building.
The public was happy when we
raised the ceiling back up to almost
its original height, with additional
insulation, and reinstated the
windows with their “spider”
transoms. Maintaining the
building’s original interior glazed
partitions, woodwork, ceiling height,
windows and transoms preserved
and respected the original
architectural style.
New interior trim for the addition
has the same overall size as the
original trim, although a different
profile section was used. This trim
was painted with a solid colour that
is similar to the colouration of the
dark brown stained original wood
trim, contrasting and distinguishing
new from old. The similarity
between new and old creates a
congruent architectural balance.
Growing up in Brussels, I thought
I had a solid understanding of the
building’s architecture. I thought the
original vocabulary of the building
was a symmetrical repetition of
identical elements. After numerous
unsuccessful attempts of various
window types, shapes, sizes and
arrangements, I realized the original
architectural vocabulary was not
what I thought. In reality, the
original windows are variations of
the same double-hung window, each
topped with a single or a double
“spider” transom window. What
seems to be a regular symmetrical
repetition of identical elements is
actually an irregular composition
that only implies regularity.
Designing more variations of the
existing original window variations
and placing them irregularly around
the new addition’s exterior with
informal relationship to the
addition’s interior rooms, I slowly
realized an architecturally
sympathetic design for the building’s
addition was emerging with its own
vocabulary that had grown out of
careful analysis of the original
architecture. Kolbe brand wood
framed windows with pre-finished
exterior metal cladding were used
for authenticity, low maintenance
and increased energy.
We lucked out when it came to
brick choice. Instead of using
reclaimed brick, we found that a new
brick, Lancaster Red Stock #4930
manufactured by Ibstock Brick, was
a successful match in size and
colour. Bear in mind that historically
red brick buildings in Ontario were
laid with mortar that was coloured.
Therefore, when using red brick for
an addition to an old red brick
building, the mortar also has to be
coloured to match in order to achieve
a successful brick match.
New details similar in overall size,
shape and proportion were designed
and developed using variations of
building materials instead of
problematic duplication. Additions
should be sympathetically congruent
and contextually in harmony with
their parent buildings. I hope the
work done to the Brussels Library
has achieved this.
Put those Christmas cheer
EMPTIES to use
On Saturday, January 12th the Blyth Brussels Novice Rep
will be collecting empties to put towards the cost of their
hockey tournaments this year.
We will be collecting from out front of BRUSSELS arena
from 9:30 am - 1:00 pm.
Curbside pick up will also be available to those
who live in the towns of Blyth or Brussels.
Please have your empties to the curb by 10:00 am on Saturday.
If neither of these options work for you please feel free to drop off
between now and January 12th at the Cherrey’s home
at 232 Blyth Road. They can be left outside the brown shed.
If you require assistance or have questions please call Sarah
at 519-572-9257.
Your support is greatly appreciated.
Thanks from the BB Novice Rep Crusaders.
Continued from page 6
Festival dinners to banquets, funeral
luncheons, farmer meetings, service
club meals, professional meetings,
birthday parties, anniversary parties,
weddings, Christmas parties
and whatever requires food.
The Branch catered 68 events in
2018.
An update on those who are
collecting poptabs for the Branch.
We appreciate everyone who saves
and drops them off at the Branch.
The pop and beer can tabs are pure
aluminum and they are then sold and
turned into cash for the purchase of
wheelchairs. A very helpful program
to many. Thank you to all.
The Brussels Branch was
saddened to lose five Comrades in
2018. We have mourned the loss of
Comrade Bill Eckmier, Bill Alcock,
Shirley Taylor, Dianne Machan and
Bush Whittard.
The Branch was fortunate to have
new members join our ranks. We
welcomed Devon Josling, Krysta
Bujold, Julie Pearce, Nancy Saddler,
Nancy Bridge and Dean Hackwell to
our membership.
Remembrance Day is the number
one priority for any Royal Canadian
Legion and this year was a special
year. It was 100 years since the
signing of the Armistice to end
World War I in 1918.
The Branch involved the local
North Woods Elementary School
students by having them place
Canadian flags on the graves of
those who had served. The Brussels
Branch conducted the normal
service at the 11th hour of the 11th
day of the 11th month at the
cenotaph in front of the Branch. The
church service at St. John’s Anglican
Church followed and then there was
a lunch at the Branch.
Next, the Branch conducted a
Remembrance Day service at
Huronlea for those who were unable
to get out or to brave the weather. A
special service was held at the going
down of the sun. “The Bells of
Peace” service read the names of
those from our area who fell during
World War I and recognized and
read 172 names of the enlisted men
of our area who trained and/ or
served overseas and came home.
The community assisted in
participating in the service by
ringing their bells 100 times at the
going down of the sun that evening.
There were six different groups that
rang bells and the Branch was truly
grateful for their participation.
It has been a busy year at Branch
218 and we thank all who support
the Branch by making donations,
buying ace tickets, renting the
facility, attending functions and
special events. The Branch is able to
make donations to our local
hospitals, sports groups, food banks,
the Huron Area Search and Rescue
group, the Cadet Corp, the Brussels
Agricultural Society, school,
athletes and many more.
We look forward to an exciting
and busy 2019 and encourage
anyone interested in joining one of
the largest service organizations to
contact the Branch.
Branch marks WWI Armistice
Planning ahead
During the Brussels Library renovation, architect John
Rutledge stored the original “spider” transoms from the
Brussels Library for use in the project. (File photo)
The big moment
After months of work, the Brussels Library was re-opened in 2014 with a grand ribbon-cutting
ceremony. The project, which was designed by Brussels native and Blyth-area architect John
Rutledge, who recently penned a feature story about the site in the Architectural Conservancy
of Ontario’s ACORN magazine. (File photo)
Local architect pens mag. feature on Brussels Library