Built in 1893, Roper House, home of the Anglican Diocese of Ottawa (ADO) offices, is a heritage building within the Cathedral Hill Heritage Conservation District. The project included extensive exterior repair and rehabilitation work, significant interior renovation work to allow for the ongoing use of the building for theADO offices, and site landscaping. This CAHP award submission is related to the exterior repair and rehabilitation work, with the primary conservation treatments being a combination of Preservation and Rehabilitation approaches as guided by the Standards and Guidelines.

The ADO’s primary goals for the Anglican Diocese Rehabilitation project were to repair and rehabilitate the exterior of the building to preserve the deteriorating asset, to renovate the interior of the building on all levels to enable the ongoing use of the building for the ADO’s offices, and to upgrade the site landscaping surrounding the building. The objectives included upgrades to meet current codes and standards where feasible, energy saving upgrades to reduce operating costs and improve thermal comfort, and accessibility upgrades to allow for barrier free access to the main entrance.

The investigation phase of the project followed the conservation-decision making process identified in the Standards and Guidelines, which calls for a sound “Understanding” of the building prior to “Planning” interventions and “Intervening”. The project team’s activities included the review of all available documents related to the historical and character-defining elements of the building, as well as the various previous reports concerning architectural and technical aspects. The activities also included visual surveys and documentation as well as investigative limited exploratory openings.