Rooftop Safety

Lansdowne Heritage Horticulture Building Keeps its Charm with A Safety Guardrail and Access Ladder

Lansdowne Heritage Horticulture Building Keeps its Charm with A Safety Guardrail and Access Ladder

The Challenge

The City of Ottawa was looking for a non-intrusive means of bringing the building’s rooftop up to today’s safety standards.

The Solution

Once the on-site visit was completed the team recommended an aluminum safety solution comprised of various non-penetrating guardrails, walkways, and a fixed ladder system.

Lansdowne Heritage Horticulture Building Keeps its Charm with A Safety Guardrail and Access Ladder

Ottawa Heritage Building

Lansdowne Park is a world class attraction that blends modern amenities, courtyards, heritage buildings and green space. This urban public destination, situated right in the heart of Ottawa city, offers programs on a year-round basis. It features events and activities for all ages, regardless of the season.

Located in Ottawa’s Lansdowne Park, the Horticulture Building was erected over nine weeks in 1914 to serve as a venue for the Central Canada Exhibition’s annual horticulture show. It replaced an earlier Horticultural Hall built-in 1899. For 75 years, it was also used as a curling venue during the winter. The Horticulture Building is the only building in Ottawa designated under Part IV of the Ontario Heritage Act three times and to have had its designation revoked twice.

The design of the Horticulture Building is attributed to architect Francis Conroy Sullivan (1882-1929), although the drawings were prepared by the office of architect Allan Keefer (1883-1952), another local architect. The exact roles played by each architect are unknown.

Keeping The Building's Charm

The Horticulture Building houses a restaurant and public reception spaces that are rented out for both private and community events. The City of Ottawa was looking for a non-intrusive means of bringing the building’s rooftop up to today’s safety standards. The rooftop HVAC systems are located close to the roof edge, ultimately making it a high-risk rooftop hazard when looking to have the units maintained. Walking on the TPO membrane roof, even when over 6 feet away from the roof edge, isn’t ideal as the material is quite slippery when wet, creating a potential fall hazard all year round. Keeping the history of the building intact while meeting the building load requirements was a must, as no upgrades to reinforce the roof of the building would be approved.

A Non-Intrusive Roof Safety Solution

The architect and general contractor reached out to our team of rooftop safety experts to conduct an on-site safety audit. Once the on-site visit was completed the team recommended an aluminum safety solution comprised of various guardrails, walkways, and a fixed ladder system. The rooftop safety solution yielded a;

  • Quick and easy installation with its modular design.
  • Lightweight design and material, eliminating the need for extra support to meet the load requirements.
  • Non-slip raised walkway, creating a safe passage to and from the HVAC units.
  • Non-corrosive aluminum material, ensuring the solution looks like new for years to come.
  • Non-penetrating rooftop system, keeping the building’s heritage intact.
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