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RESTORATIVE SPACE A HISTORIC FIRE HALL AND STABLE ARE TRANSFORMED INTO WINDSOR, ONTARIO’S NEWEST LIBRARY. Windsor Public Library—John Muir Branch, Windsor, Ontario studio g+G inc. TEXT Rebekah Mayer PHOTOS Jason Grossi PROJECT
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Established in 1797, Olde Sandwich Towne is located on the west side of Windsor, and is home to some of Ontario’s oldest heritage buildings. One of those gems is the 1921 Windsor Fire Hall No. 6, and its adjoining mid-nineteenth-century stable—one of few to survive from the era when fire engines were pulled by horses. In 2016, the City of Windsor and Windsor Public Library Board purchased both buildings, aiming to adaptively reuse them for a new library space. For locals, the resulting John Muir Branch is more than a useful community amenity, and a sensitive piece of heritage restoration—it’s a work of art in itself.
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The project was designed by architect Jason Grossi of Studio g+G and completed by Intrepid General Limited contractors. The contractors lived up to their name, as the project proved complex from the start. The sandy soil of the building site haunted the team throughout the project, requiring foundation underpinning and shoring to support a new elevator. The disparate f loor elevations of the fire hall and stable also created challenges: in the contemporary addition that links the two historic structures, a suspended walkway on a slight incline connects one building’s upper f loor to the other.
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