AWARD OF HONOUR
The Federal Motors Company Building Rehabilitation
Chris Turcotte, Cressey Group of Companies
Greg Borowski, Merrick Architecture
Hal Kalman, Commonwealth Historic Resource Management Ltd
Charles Edward Chapman purchased the property at 1295 Seymour Street in Downtown Vancouver in 1919 and erected the present building to accommodate Federal Motors Co. The company manufactured truck bodies and placed them on unfinished chassis brought in from the East or the U.S. The building was designed and constructed by contractor and self-styled architect Bedford Davidson.
The Federal Motors Company Building is an excellent essay in early modernity, incorporating all those features that so inspired early modernists – extensive curtain walling (here expressed as large windows), an expressed reinforced concrete structure, undecorated materials, and design to accommodate the new technology of motor vehicles. It is a very early example for Vancouver of this modern industrial/ commercial style, in which the building is reduced solely to its functional elements.
The present owner rehabilitated the former Federal Motors Co. Building as part of a redevelopment of the neighbouring property to the north as the Élan, a residential project. The principal façades were restored closer to its original character and deteriorated or missing architectural elements repaired or replaced in kind.
The condition of the historic architectural features of the exterior façades, such as the sheet-metal cornice, reinforced concrete walls and large multi-pane wood sash windows, were examined. Conservation specifications identified the scope of work for the repair and replacement of historic elements. Historic paint chips were taken from the sill, mullion and fixed light of the original windows and the cornice. Based on these findings the exterior architectural elements such as windows, cornice and concrete walls were painted with the new colour scheme.
The interior space was rehabilitated and upgraded to accommodate commercial retail in order to continue the historic use of the heritage building.
The former Federal Motors showroom comprises an important part of Vancouver’s cultural heritage. The rehabilitation of the building and its placement on the Vancouver Heritage Register has helped to broaden the scope of heritage conservation in the City and the province. The conservation of this structure is significant as a reminder of a formerly prevalent automotive use along Seymour Street, one that is rapidly disappearing. These vestiges of the past are important to demonstrate changing land use, in this case from industrial and automotive to commercial, retail and residential.
