2010 OUTSTANDING ACHIEVEMENT AWARD

Conservation of the Sikh Temple

Abbotsford

Khalsa Diwan Society
Raiwall Developments Ltd
Jonathan Yardley Architect Inc.

The Abbotsford Sikh Temple, built in 1911, is the oldest such temple surviving in North America, and has been recognized as a National Historic Site. Built by the local Sikh community from donated material, it follows the standard form for a traditional Sikh temple, but adapted to Canadian construction methods. It consists of a two-storey wood-framed, gable roofed, rectangular structure. The building sits on a full basement on concrete foundations. The basement contains the kitchen and eating area, while the Temple Prayer Hall and Priest’s accommodation are found on the main floor. On three sides of the building, surrounding the Prayer Hall, is a covered veranda with hand-washing facilities.

Additions were made to the Temple in 1932 and the 1960’s. 
In 2002 a much larger modern temple was built on the opposite side of South Fraser Way, making the 1911 Temple redundant. In 2000, the Khalsa Diwan Society decided to honour the history of the local Sikh community and embarked on a major rehabilitation program.

In 2003, Jonathan Yardley was retained to carry out a condition survey (6) and make recommendations as to which sections of the Temple should be retained and how intervention should take place. 

The inspection report recommended that the inappropriate addition from the 1960’s be removed to reveal the north elevation of the earlier 1932 addition. It also recommended that the entire basement area be retained as a non-working kitchen and dining area for the purposes of interpretation.

It was found that the roof structure above both the Temple and the Priest’s accommodation was inadequate and therefore needed major updating to meet current B.C. Building Code requirements for seismic resistance. The inspection report also found a number of serious cracks to the existing foundation walls, particularly at the north end of the 1960’s addition. Inspection during construction revealed that these foundation walls had no footings and were resting on native organic ground over poorly compacted sand. It was necessary to jack up this section of the building and support it extensively so that the existing ground under the foundations could be removed to a depth of approximately 16 feet and then backfilled with compacted pit run gravel to provide adequate bearing for a new footing to support the existing foundation walls. In the end, this section of the building was brought up approximately 12” from where it had subsided.

The rectangular “shop front” gable wall supporting the Sikh Temple sign was in very poor condition due to failure of flashings and opening up of its junction to the roof. This had allowed rainwater to enter into the framing, causing extensive rot.   Again, it was necessary to substantially remove this element and rebuild with a better seismically engineered structure clad with drop siding of the same profile to match the original. Due to long neglect and lack of maintenance, the roof and vee-jointed boarded ceilings of the wraparound verandas had, in most areas, rotted out. Further, the non-original hollow steel support posts were at a point of collapse. Using archival photographs, it was possible to replicate the original turned and detailed wood support posts. Further, it was also possible to install a replicated handrail, which was below code height.
The most invasive part of the project was the installation of a combined wet and dry sprinkler system.

All the exterior finishes were repaired and repainted to match the original historic colour, and the Gur Sikh Temple sign was repainted and reinstalled.

Through the determination of the local Sikh community, the oldest Sikh Temple in North America has been preserved. A new use, as both a Sikh Museum and a small Temple for special occasions, has been provided. All was made possible by a grant of $200,000, which was provided by the Federal Government through Parks Canada.  Other funds came from private donations from both the Sikh community and the general public.