North Wing Coat of Arms Conservation, Legislative Assembly of Ontario Queens Park

Restoring a Coat of Arms

Winner: 2023 Crafts and Trades Award

Property Owner: Legislative Assembly of Ontario, Precinct Properties Branch

Project Date of Completion: November 11, 2022

The North Wing of the Legislative Assembly Building, Queen’s Park was added in 1909-1913 to the designs of architect GW Gouinlock. Constructed with a combination of red sandstones in the Romanesque-Revival style, the building features decorative masonry elements including an intricately carved Coat of Arms, two lions’ heads, and engaged columns framing a carved stone spandrel panel.

As part of a continuous exterior conservation and maintenance plan, +VG Architects and Capital Conservation Services Inc. were retained in 2021 to assess conditions at the Coat of Arms and surrounding features, and consider solutions to deteriorations, inherent deficiencies, and potential failures in evidence on the masonry. In the case of a significant heritage feature like the Coat of Arms, the aim was to conserve, protect and extend the life of the item so that it can survive in-place as long as possible, without significant replacement of original materials.