Lone façade

>> How to build a $240-million convention centre around a turn-of-the-century brick wall

by PHILIP PREVILLE

Construction work for the Palais des Congrès expansion is well under way at the corner of Bleury and St-Antoine, as backhoes busily clear away the rubble from all the demolished buildings. But what catches the eye is what's been left standing: rising from the wreckage like a windowed monolith is the front face of the old Rogers & King building.

It's enough to fill a heritage preservationist's heart with glee. But for everyone else, that six-storey wall is either a challenge or a big pain in the ass.

The designers: It's easier for architects to work with a blank slate when designing a building; throw in a six-storey façade covering only part of the building's south face, and they have to work around it. Complicating matters further is the fact that the architects had no intention of building a convention centre with six floors. Decision: the two bottom floors will house a restaurant, while the top four storeys of windows will look down onto a high-ceilinged, 65,000-square-foot multipurpose hall. Great idea--but even that comes with problems. "What if someone wants to show a film in there?" says architect and project manager Michel Languedoc. "We have to design some kind of blind system. We're still working on that."

The crews: Obviously, the demolition men had to go easy with the wrecking balls and the backhoes as they worked their way from the back of the building to the front. Then they had to make sure the wall wouldn't fall down, which is more complicated than it seems. "Squares and rectangles are inherently unstable," explains Languedoc. "Given the chance, they'll collapse or even just tilt."

The wall is currently held in place by a lattice of steel struts, a temporary concrete foundation, and over 250 massive concrete blocks at its base. It will stay standing as-is for most of the next two years. Crews will have to tiptoe around it while they cover the expressway, dig a massive parking garage, and reattach it to the new building.

The money men: Though he wouldn't say exactly how much, Languedoc admits that keeping the Rogers & King façade added millions to the project's total price tag. They also intend to preserve the façade of the fire hall and the old MUCTC building just down the street. Says Languedoc: "Heritage preservation ain't cheap."

Final factoid: Ironically, despite all this effort, the Rogers & King building isn't even a recognized heritage site. They decided to preserve it anyway because it's a good example of early industrial architecture--the building was originally an iron foundry. "The brickwork is very intricate," says Languedoc. "We're pretty sure that many of the decorative stones were cut specifically for this building. Mind you, custom masonry was common back then. But you don't see foundries downtown anymore, and you probably never will." :

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