Hamilton’s City Hall, a 1960’s heritage designated building, is one of our city’s most iconic. In 2010, we led the interior design work on an extensive renovation project, in Association with Garwood-Jones & Hanham Architects. Our first priority was to preserve the integrity of its distinctive design, while addressing its shortcomings and outdated infrastructure.

We used an Integrated Design Process, involving ABE and EllisDon Corporation as Project Managers, and a multi-disciplinary team including +VG Architects.

We led the programme verification and building audit portions of the project. We extensively involved the users and stakeholders in the functional programme.  Once complete, we developed and executed a responsive plan to renovate all building interiors, including eight floors and the basement. As a local architectural team, we provided coordination with sub-consultants and ensured seamless building systems integration.

One of the priorities was to reshape the environment to meet the City of Hamilton’s Barrier-Free Guidelines. These guidelines are more stringent than the Ontario Building Code. All renovations and selected finishes needed to be responsive and compliment the interior and exterior heritage elements, which could not be altered.

The project, in partnership with EllisDon,  involved a hybrid version of the Integrated Project Delivery method of construction delivery. As a direct result, the process was highly successful and the team was able to achieve partial savings, to the great advantage of the client. This innovative design and construction approach is beginning to take hold in the Canadian construction industry and compliments our firm’s cultural approach, rooted in an inclusive Integrated Design Process which further promotes the thoughtful delivery of sustainable results on our clients behalf.