UN IO N DU CANADA LOWERTOWN T Contributions to this report were made by the following Lowertown residents: Nancy Miller Chenier Mario Gasperetti Roger Picton Michel Rossignol Abigail Gossage (photographs) Marc Aubin We would also like to provide a special thanks to many others who contributed letters of support, help, and guidance from Ottawa and beyond. We especially thank and dedicate this work to Mr. Louis J. Lapierre, a master architect who dared to reach up to the sky to the brilliance of the future. Written in 2013 (v1) Members of City Council and the Built Heritage Advisory Committee City of Ottawa (City Hall) 110 Laurier Avenue Ottawa, ON K1P 1J1 Monday, March 18, 2013 Dear Sir/Madam, Please find enclosed a submission by the Heritage Committee of the Lowertown Community Association regarding the Union du Canada building. Growing up, I thought the Union du Canada building was the ugliest in Lowertown. After reviewing the attached case and deeply reflecting on this building, I am now convinced that it is a significant Lowertown landmark and worthy of preservation. The Union du Canada, as an organization, has strong associative value with the Ottawa francophone community and to significant people, events, and trends in Lowertown, Ontario, and Canada: • Many prominent Lowertown francophones helped establish and run the company; • It was an exceptional example of the trend towards creation of self-help benevolent societies to support underserved minorities in Canada; • It was closely aligned with other Lowertown and Franco-Ontarian groups in the fight against regulation 17, and in protecting francophone linguistic rights; • It fully participated, contributed, and hosted cultural and religious events and celebrations in the Lowertown area in a significant way over its 150 year history. The architecture of the Union du Canada building is a unique and meritorious example of a modern building on the skyline of the Lowertown area. Designed by an accomplished francophone Montreal architect, Louis J. Lapierre, it harkens back to the era of Expo ’67. Franco-Ontarians and Canadians were coming of age in this time in many respects and the Union du Canada building was an example of a minority group reaching up to the sky and to the brilliance of the future. While this building represented a new modern style in the Byward Market, it was part of a continuing evolution in the area. The evolution of Lowertown and the Byward Market reflects layers of different architectural styles, including ones from the era of the Union du Canada building. However, the architecture and size of Union du Canada is exceptional among this last layer of buildings. There is no doubt it adds to the diversity and mix of the area. Any decisions regarding the Union du Canada building must be taken in light of recent precedents of designation: the Loeb House in the Rockcliffe Heritage Conservation District, the Deschâtelets Building of the Oblate Fathers of Mary Immaculate, part of which Lapierre is also the architect; and, the Briarcliff Heritage Conservation District. The evidence supporting the protection of the Union du Canada building meets or beats the criteria the City of Ottawa used in the above mentioned designations. The building could easily meet criteria under both part IV and V of the Ontario Heritage Act. To suggest otherwise would be a great injustice to this building, the organization behind it, and the history of Lowertown and the Byward Market. Finally, it is apparent from many vantage points that the building’s height is disproportionate with rest of the Heritage Conservation District. However, adding any further height would not only damage the integrity of the design of the building but the integrity of the entire heritage district. Would this not set a serious precedent for this Heritage Conservation District? What will the Ontario Municipal Board say when another developer wants to build above the 4-storey limit in this heritage district? I suggest this is a serious consideration not to be lightly overlooked. There is no logic in supporting more height here. The Union du Canada building can be restored, and creatively and sympathetically readapted to a use as a hotel. The developer should be encouraged to take advantage of the growing interest in “mid-century” modernist architecture. There is no doubt that other hotels have been very successful in embracing this kind of architecture. The Arc, a boutique-style hotel on Slater Street in Ottawa and many similar ones in other cosmopolitan centres are excellent examples that can inform and inspire what can be done with Union du Canada while also respecting its current architecture. Sincerely yours, Marc Aubin, President, Lowertown Community Association cc. Madeleine Meilleur, MPP, Ottawa-Vanier CONTENTS Submission to the Built Heritage Subcommittee 6 Recommended Motion 10 Annex I – Chronology of the Union du Canada 11 Annex II – Architecture of the Union du Canada 14 Annex III – Architect of the Union du Canada 18 Annex IV – Comparison of Community and City Heritage Evaluations [Table] 21 Annex V – Precedents Established for Modern Architecture [Table] 27 Annex VI – Association with Trends, People and Events 30 Union du Canada Submission to Built Heritage Subcommittee (March 20, 2013) The Union du Canada building continues to stand as a landmark, highly visible and strongly connected to the history and people of Lowertown and to francophones across Ontario and elsewhere. When designed by Louis J Lapierre in 1966, it was a symbol of optimism, both for the insurance company celebrating 100 years of success and for the people of Lowertown who had supported the Union from its foundation. Built as part of a modern architectural trend in Ottawa and Montreal, the Union du Canada is unique in its design and constitutes a significant piece of the area’s historic fabric. As our guide in assessing the Union du Canada building, we relied on the Ontario Heritage Act (Reg 9/06) that outlines three key criteria for determining cultural heritage: design or physical value; historical or associative value and contextual value. Our submission is organized to provide a brief overview of these areas with more substantive details provided in appended documents. Design or Physical Value The craftsmanship, the quality of the materials and the overall technical and artistic achievement of this building are remarkable. When Louis J Lapierre designed the Union du Canada, he was already experimenting with some of the modern designs made possible by the availability of new materials. The building embodies modernism at its best with its emphasis on function and utility, sculptural form, honesty in materials, and the use of contemporary materials and technology. For his work with the Union du Canada, Lapierre applied his method of working closely with the professionals involved in the organization, in this case, economists. After surveys to determine future building needs, he designed a commercial building that could be adapted to subsequent internal changes of function. In collaboration with Laure Major, a Quebec artist, he designed an exterior “climatological curtain” where four different styles of mirrored windows would create a rhythmic fragmentation of light. For the interior, he incorporated a “sculptured wall” with geometric plaster forms created by Laure Major. Even the 1990 evaluation for the Byward Market Heritage Conservation District study saw its architectural significance. Now almost 25 years later, the Union du Canada building can still be seen as an “electic contemporary” style with a “precast, metal and glass façade” and of an “elaborately detailed contemporary commercial design.” Historical or Associative Value The Union du Canada building has direct associations with several significant events, people, organizations and trends in Lowertown and beyond. The mutual aid society that grew into the Union du Canada Vie Assurance is intricately linked to the francophone community of the Byward Market, Lowertown, Ottawa and Ontario. From a start as a small self-help group meeting on Murray Street, at a time when many financial institutions would not serve francophone workers, the Union du Canada Vie Assurance was by the 1960s a major force in the Canadian insurance industry. Reported to be the oldest continuous mutual aid society in Canada, it envisioned this new building as a monument to progress and a tribute to its founders, the labourers and merchants from Lowertown. The names of the early builders and supporters of the organization – Guigues, Duhamel , Bordeleau, Foisy, Rochon, Valade and more – continue to resonate through Lowertown. Trophies, medals and other awards provided by the Union for French language studies are still treasured by former students and their families. The Assembly of Francophones of Ontario continues to acknowledge the role of the Union in its foundation and growth. As a symbol of optimism, the Union du Canada building reflected a new period in French-Canadian culture and economic successes. Political events in Ottawa and elsewhere in Canada led francophones to envision a positive future for their institutions. In Ottawa, the establishment of the Royal Commission on Bilingualism and Biculturalism in 1963 increased confidence while the increase in francophones in the public service helped to sustain the churches, schools and societies of Lowertown's population. Canada's centennial provided the francophone community with an added opportunity to celebrate their place in an increasingly cosmopolitan country. Built just 30 years after the current Byward market building, the Union du Canada building was a deliberate departure from earlier architecture. In Ottawa, the 1960s was an era when the design of many national cultural institutions reflected trends in modern architecture. The National Library opened in 1967 and was described as an imposing structure of granite, marble, glass and steel. The National Arts Centre, described as Brutalist and constructed of poured concrete, opened in 1969 and is now designated as a national historic site.