New Member Profile: Greg Munn
We are thrilled to introduce Greg Munn, the latest addition to our community of professionals. He founded Munn Architecture Inc. in 2022, establishing his practice in his ancestral home on Prince Edward Island. With over 30 years of experience in preservation, rehabilitation, and heritage conservation, Greg brings a wealth of knowledge and passion to every project. He told us more about his work in this following Q&A:
Q: How did you get started in heritage conservation?
A: “My interest in heritage preservation began as a teenager when I researched my family genealogy which sparked an interest and awareness of the built heritage of Prince Edward Island. Around the same time, I discovered the works by Island architect William Harris (1854-1913), and spent approximately 15 years hunting down and photographing all of his extant works. My first professional experience in heritage preservation was my internship with Robert Parker Associates, as an architecture student at Dalhousie University (TUNS), in 1993.”
Q: Who do you admire most, and why?
A: “I was very close to my grandfather, Arthur Munn, who died when I was 18. He was a self taught mechanic, carpenter, photographer, inventor and artist. A man of few words. When he spoke, people listened. He had a perfect memory and told me in detail what his life was like, and the world was like, back to the beginning of the 20th century. His pursuit of knowledge and fulfillment has been the greatest influence on who I am now.”
Q: What do you consider your greatest achievement so far?
A: “The restoration, preservation, renovation of my ancestral home on Prince Edward Island. As the client and architect of the project I believe I enriched my knowledge and understanding of the theories and practice of heritage preservation. I now live and run my architectural practice in the home. It is a constant experiment and work in progress.”
The home originally belonged to his great grandmother and was used by his family as a summer cottage until 2010 when Greg began working to restore and renovate the home. Over more than a decade, Greg installed electricity, plumbing, and heating, all while preserving the original integrity of the structure. By creating an insulated concrete form (ICF) basement, he was able to install heat throughout the home without needing to add vents that would take away from the character. He came back to the home on his vacations to renovate and restore each room in the house one at a time. Greg’s affinity for painting also led him to bring as much colour into his home as possible. He painted each room in the house a different colour, creating spaces that tell their own stories and reflect his love for both architecture and art. The paints that he uses from Farrow & Ball help to tell the story of the home through the company’s ability to replicate colours from the past.
The home is not just a project; it inspired Greg to become an architect, bringing his career full circle.
Q: What has been your favorite project that you have worked on?
A: “A current project, the restoration of the Lunenburg Heritage Society headquarters and museum, the Knaut Rhuland House. The work to repair and restore the fabric of the house is constantly revealing its secrets, which leads to rethinking the story of the house, as well as that of Lunenburg. Also, the clients are a delight to work with and are as excited about the discoveries as I am.”
Greg has been working with the Lunenburg Heritage Society since 2022 as the heritage architect on the project to complete structural repairs. So far he has worked on the site drainage and foundation repointing. In the coming years he will assist in restoring the exterior and then the interior. As the house has never undergone a restoration, Greg is very proud to be working on this project to help conserve this piece of history in Lunenburg.
Another project that Greg is working on is the restoration of the McAdam Railway Station Hotel. The former CPR rail station includes a once operational 5-star hotel in the large granite building. Greg’s involvement on this project is to work on restoring and renovating the hotel so that it may be used again. He must ensure that the hotel, built in 1900, meets the present accessibility codes by installing an exterior staircase for access. Greg will also be responsible for working on restoring the windows and roof of the hotel. He is excited to restore the hotel to once again be enjoyed by the public.
Greg is a great addition to our CAHP Atlantic Charter with his many years of experience in architecture and heritage conservation. If you want to learn more about him and connect click the button below!
