Red River College School of Hospitality and Culinary Arts former Union Bank Tower (1906) and Annex (1920)

504 Main Street, Winnipeg, Manitoba

2013 Ecclesiastical Insurance Cornerstone Award (Adaptive Reuse/Rehabilitation)

Located in Winnipeg’s historic Exchange District, the original Union Bank Tower was the city’s first skyscraper. It was designed in the Chicago School style by Darling and Pearson and built in 1906. The Annex was added in 1920. Before the Red River College took ownership in 2009, it had been vacant for 17 years. It now houses the School of Hospitality and Culinary Arts and student residence units. Cooking labs were added and a new third floor straddles the Annex. The rehabilitation project involved extensive restoration of the banking hall’s 28-foot ornate plaster ceilings, scagliola columns and gilded details, as well as the hardwood and marble floors and marble panels throughout. Exterior terra cotta was repaired and replaced and historic window frames removed and refinished. The project also meant sustainable goals targeting LEED Silver certification.

Owner: Red River College
Architects: Prairie Architects Inc.