The Goderich Signal-Star, 1962-09-06, Page 12X2 'trhe,Goderich Signal -Star, Thursday, September 6th, 1964
BRITISH MORTGAGE HAS 7v, ..
ique Cans
traction
e
Triangular shaped site *the
new British Mortgage Gederich
branch olive" demanded unique
construction, architect Fred
Raunthwaite of Tero'nto ex
plai'ped when describinan; 04g-
•inahplans for the -modern glass
structure. The building was
not only tailored a triangular
shape to. fit the lot, but its
three walls were also curved.
Remarkable feature of this en-
tirely new concept in design
is that no portion of these In-
diana white limestone walls is
supported • from the ground—
they appear to float over a con-
tinuous ' double -glazed- window
wall froin ground' level tq 1' 6"
high, ' -
Support afforded by the mas-
sive vault section and by four-
teen reinforced concrete col-
unins..made it possible to pro-
duce a roof of steel and con-
crete so strong that the walls
could be suspended • from it.
.(Roof weighs 185 tons.) By
very careful engineering, each
of • the columns supports an
equal weight, 22 tons of roof
and wall. .
Between the.curved walls; at'
-the--points of the triangle, the
double -glazed windows extend
from the floor to a 13 -foot ceil-
ing. Above these---winelowsi -a-
deep fascia of polished red
granite from Quebec links the
cantilivered ends �f the curved
walls. The granite is also a
dramatic contrast to the pure
white limestone walls.
Constructed of reinforced
concrete, the building has been
designed to stand for hundreds
of years. The entrance floor
is terrazzo, and a terrazzo curb
hasbeen erected under all win-
dows. -Floors behind the coun-
ter in the savings area, are of
cork; basement floors . are vinyl
asbestos tile.
The interesting •ceiling fea-
Sand Sculpture Mural
odernistic Art Work
'M
pre& throughout the building'
was made of natural asbestos,
sprayed onto a suspended steel -
grid .ceiling. This type of cell-,
ing was chosen as the asbestos
helps to make the building fire
resist t. ------
Incandescent and fluorescent`
lighting was installed in the
--ceiling--to ensure maximum con-
trol of light in a*y weathee.
An aperture betwecn file ceil-
ing., and the underside of the
roof permits a curtain of, cool
air in summer and warm air
in winter to 'pass down the
window -walls and thus control
the temperature'ef the building,
Cold air return is effected by
a grill, six inches above the,.
floor, which completely en`
circles the interior,_
A similarly patterned peri-
meter heating system starts
with a gas-fired hot water boil-
er in the basement. Hot air
is blown to a convertor over •
the vaelt, and then through the
ducts • uiider the ceiling to all,
areas of thp office. Soft cur-
taining wilT in the heat-
ing of the building.
A modernistic work of art in white and waterproof),
the new British Mortgage Gode= Final step was to 'remove the
rich branch' office will be 'of, steel" frame from the original
particularinterest to the peo- "box of sand." Some of the
pie of the community for two sand had stuck to the - wet
reasons: It is a sand sculpture cement mould, thus forming the
mural, a 20th century art form; pattern of . the mural.
made 'from local sand, and it This unique sculpture, the
depicts, in relief, the. -unusual- largest -mural Mr: Wallace has-
plan of ,the. Town of Goderich ever cast in one .piece, is locat-.
with its octagonal hub -and -spoke ed in the basement of the new
lay -out of 'streets, the river, the building adjacent to 'the "Com -
famed harbor and salt mine. munity Room." It is one of two'
'This artistic map was created works Mr.' Wallace has planned'
by Don Wallace, well-known for the Goderich office. The
'Canadian sculptor. second 'Is a British Mortgage
Mr. Wallace's method, detail- company, crest which he is
ed and time-consuming,t:consist- creating from plastics and glass:
ed of five main steps. He be- In. making, the Crest, Mr. Wal-
gan with a rough frame which lace wilt alternate three sheets
3e filled with sand,. Into . this of • plastic and two sheets of
he placed a heavy steel -frame, glass.
11,4 feet .by 71, feet. Then he On the- two 'exterior plastics
traced• out and mouldede — in he will engrave the outline of '
reverse—the desired design in the company crest *`Something
the sand. Next he cast the like a line drawiig, Mr: Wal-
;mural"by poui'ing a mixture of lace explained. Then on the
_medusa 'cement into 'the mould. third ,piece, which is the centre
(Medusa cement is non -staining,.
400,0•NrO•NN,94..NodOo
?4& ONOIII Y;-.
•
�11.1vTI,'IFG.
A word not In the dictionary
but meaning, false economy to
eke out small savings by deny-
ing yourself the best in life!
Just try our cleaning service
once and you'll find that home
cleaning methods save • you
nothing when your clothing will
stay cean so much longer with
our methods.
GODERICH • •
Frerich
DRY CLEANERS
W. D. WILSON, Prop.
WEST ST. JA 4-8452
sheet, he 'will cut out the crest's
three figures—sheaf of wheat,
lion and maple leaf. These
cut-outs are to be filled with
Colored' chips of -plastics,,
creat -aa`, modern stained-glass.
effect. •
. This'). five -foot -square multi-
colored sculpture. is an art
form which- has never been done
before. Upon completion, ,it
will beinstalled above the' main
entrance door. —
°
Another striking wall sculp-
ture by Don Wallace decorates
the lobby of the Brampton
branch 'office of British Mort -
'"gage. This controversial • piece
is cast in high -alumina cement.
It depicts significant figures in
Bramptoh's industry and com-
merce.. °
Mr. Wallace; a native • of Oil
Springs, Ontario, studied at the
Royal College of Art in London;'
England. He has exhibited in
many countries including Italy,
Belgium, Norway, Canada and
U.S.A. •
In 1959 'he was winner of a
Canada Council_ Fellowship for
one year pf travel and study in
Europe to do research into the,
means of integrating • art and
architecture and the use of arch-
itectural materials as "sculptural
'media. Influenced -extensively
•by this study, Mr. Wallace now
specializes in architectural art,
particularly murals and orna-
mental screens. In addition, he.
is a commercial furniture de-
signer.
Mrs. F. G. Eagle, of Hamil-
ton, has returned home after
spending a month with her
sister, Miss Emma Campbell.
It Was Our
Pleasure
To Have Done -`.The
ERit.AZZ
Work In The New Building Of
BRITISH MORTGAGE
& TR -UST CO.
e
e
' n
lioncion
ink Of . fenport.d May14 Slabs, in Western Ont'..
ber of the Board of Directors
and also the Club's bulletin
editor, Re is'4 a ,Director and
Membership Chairman of the
114aitland Golf Club and a mem-
ber Of North Street United
Church.
1'Ir. Rowlands, who was rais-
ed .in Stratford, joined the Air
Force In 1940, and- seryet
radar officer ,with bomber com-
mand in Europe until 1945.
While in Great Britain, he
married Tess (Campbell), native
of North Wales. The Rowlands
,• have three children: meter 18,
Wendy, 13, and Marianne 10.,
q +Y
-ranch Manager
Is War Veteran
Mr. Edward Rowlands is Man-
ager of the new branch of Bri-
tish Mortgage. He ' joined the
4 x, 4,
Company in 1958, and moved
to Goderich in July, 1961, to
prepare for the opening of the
temporary office in September.
Mr. Rowlands, active particfp-
,.antin community activities, was
the 'Charter President of the
Rotary Club. He is now a mem-
Two Tiny Is
Hit Jack -Pot ------
Two d'py- girls, -wide-eyed with
awe, crept carefully through the
door into the newly constructed
British Mortgage building some
weeks ago. Tliey stood in fas-
cination as shiny floors were,.
laid. They watched each move
of those about. ';Then, cautious-
ly, the 'little visitors trip -toed
up to • Savings Manager Frank
MacDonald, standing closeby.
``have -you, -Sir, any
here?" they whispered. He
found several treasures for the
tiny ladies. ,
They responded with grins
and a ".Thank you," and moved
,*wards the door, bottles- clutch-
ed tightly in their little -.hands.
"Golly Sue," one wee girl ex, -
claimed to her friend, "We
sure made a bundle here."
C
ngratulcitions
On This The Official
Opening :�f, The. New Buildin
•ALL PAINTING WASDONE BY
•
194. Davis Sf.
G.
C
:UCT
EL
Played Ari Important
Part In The
Construction
Of This.
BOLD NEW STRUCTURE
RiT1SRN
■'
E
KALAR RD.
Of The
GE &TTTR-U$T C
6g. Ivc1R�
Ni.garfj'r' Fii1
ti
•
\
OFFICIAL OPENING WILL
TAKE PLACE 2 P.M. FRIDAY
,Nw British Mortgage Gode-
rich. Branch Office will be of -
11 i. opened_ an--Fr-iday,_-Buri-
tember 7th at 2.00 p.m. Mr.
W., H. Gregory, President of the
Company, will be 'master of,
ceremonies for the brief ccre-
-niony. Guests of honor invited
.include Hon. L. E, Cardiff, M.P.,
tion: C. S. MacNaughton, M.Y.P.,
Warden George 'McCutcheon,
C, F. T. Rounthefaite,, architect,
and Doh Smithcontractor.
To officially mark the 'open-
ing -a€ -the -building -a agolden--ri
bon an the large -glass Elgin
avenue door will be cut by
His Worship Mayor Ernie Fish-
er, of Goderich. -
Mr. Fisher, a three genera-
tion Huronite, has been a well -
0
known figure in Goderich for
many years. After the war, he
graduated from the Ryerson In-
stitute of Technology and held
a position '}as transmitter elec-
trician with a London radio
station for some time. He then
returhed to his hole town to
work for Dominion Road Ma-
chinery Company where he is
now electrical supervisor.
Mr. Fisher has starved sac
years on the .Goderich Town
Council and live consecutive
terms--as�-Mayor -of
He is a charter member of° the
1pcal Rotary Club, a member
of the Royal Canadian Legion,
and Past President of the
Goderich Trades and . Labor
Council.
MODERN VAULT PROVIDES
MAXIMUM IN SECURITY
The ultra -modern vault in
the Goderich office of British
Mortgage & Trust offers com-
plete security to the people of
the town and the surrounding
area.
The massive vault is centered.
deep in the building to ensure -
the ultimate in security., Super-
imposed on a similar one in
the basement, it was construct-
ed of 120 teas . of steel and
concrete. ' The security door,
constructed of two tons of arm
our plate, has been attractively
finishedin stainless steel. Walls
f --ti e•--en"t-ire-unit-- vver-e--glarst-
ered, then covered in a soft
mushroom -colored vinyl cloth.
The ' vault's strength and. solid-
ity contrast effectively with the
apparent lightness of the rest
of the glassstructure.
ALL
LECTRICAL
WORK
at the
BRITISH MORTGAGE
TRUST CO:
e
Was Done By
1
ELECTRICAL CONTRACTORS
P.O. Box 880
Sarnia
PLUMBING -HEATING
and
EN1ILMi sNG
n� ihe new
BRITISH ORTGA
& TRUST CO:
building
by
is k
-Steen Mechanical
Contractors
P.O. lox 1032
London
7 i
• i.
r