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Southcott Awards 2002 113 Bond Street, St. John's This entry was a particularly difficult project to judge. You see, it originally started out as a restoration but during construction was completely destroyed by fire. So we were faced with giving an award to a completely new house but, because the Trust is keen on promoting sensitive new construction, we were very pleased to see it and what was done with this house - knowing only too well what can happen elsewhere downtown. After the fire destroyed their first construction project, the owners, Stan Dragland & Marnie Parsons, wanted to design an infill house which would match the understated integrity of the exterior form & detail of the original. They commissioned Architect, Robert Mellin and builder Keith Pierce, to help them achieve their goal. It turned out to be a rather up-scale, understated house. The original floor plan layout was maintained, in particular the location of the staircase, exterior door & windows facing the street. Other traditional features, which were reconstructed, were the 4" exposed clapboard, original window & door trims, water table and transom window over the street entrance door. There was a coal chute in the existing house, which was reinstated. The vertical board, V groove storm door was incorporated, a feature which seems to be disappearing from many renovated houses in the downtown area and new eave brackets were made up to match those salvaged from the fire. There were also a few technical constraints encountered, since this project became a new construction versus a renovation. Firstly, the fire occurred in winter, so documenting the original state of the house was treacherous with all the snow & ice. The requirement by the national building code to have a minimum fire & acoustical separation from attached houses, translated into a slightly narrower house than originally existed. The original coal burning fireplaces were completely destroyed in the fire and could not be restored. One of the reasons why, this house is receiving an award, is very eloquently stated by the owners: "Every effort has been made to maintain the spirit and integrity of the original house by being true to its proportions and lines. Rather than give in to the temptation of ornamental detail inappropriate to the aspect of the original, we strove to maintain a balance between the in-fill house and the neighbourhood. We loved the simplicity & quietness of the house that was destroyed and hoped to replace it with a house which was as simple, quiet & graceful as its predecessor." |
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