Buildings XI Conference -- Building Science in the Restoration of a Heritage Building PDF

The Hotel Georgia is a Vancouver landmark. The 12-story building opened in 1927 and since then has hosted royalty and scoundrels—and a host of famous entertainers. The hotel is registered as a protected heritage property by the City of Vancouver. It is currently undergoing a major renovation with the intent of reopening as a five-star hotel. The concrete-framed building is clad with a brick veneer and precast elements over backup walls of laid-up terra-cotta blocks. The brick is supported on shelf angles and tied back with irregularly spaced strap anchors (in a severe seismic zone!). Most windows were wood-framed, double-hung units. The team overseeing the renovation of the building envelope had to consider many issues, including

• providing seismic competence,
• addressing brick displacement caused by corrosion jacking at shelf angles,
• providing thermal and acoustic comfort appropriate for a five-star hotel,
• providing appropriate protection against water penetration in Vancouver's maritime climate,
• maintaining heritage character and fabric, and
• controlling costs.

Key features of the renewal design included

• installation of structural framing inside the existing walls and tying the brick through the terra-cotta block to the frame;
• replacement of about a quarter of the shelf angles without wholesale brick removal;
• use of spray-applied urethane foam to the inside of the existing wall to control the flow of heat, air, vapor, and moisture;
• replacement of guest room windows with wood-framed, double-glazed, single-hung operators; and
• restoration of lower floor wood-framed windows.

This paper highlights how building science and logic drove design decisions.