Brought to you by: Architect: 5468796 ArchitectureLocation: Winnipeg, Manitoba, CanadaCompletion Date: 2024In the Exchange District, the post-industrial core of Downtown Winnipeg, local practice 5468796 Architecture has revived the James Avenue Pumping Station, a facility that once moved water across the city. Maintaining the station’s now dormant machinery, the firm suspended office space and a restaurant from a platform within the historic structure, while also adding two new apartment buildings to the east and west end of the exterior. These additions are sheathed in a black metallic cladding that complements the site’s industrial character. Decommissioned in 1986, the pumping station underwent a series of demolition threats and failed renovation efforts until 546 Architecture came along with a plan to save the building. Working with a developer, the firm devised a renovation scheme and accompanying financial pro forma that was presented, unprompted, to the city of Winnipeg, who owns the site. A zoning amendment was ultimately passed to allow for the construction of residential units on the site, an addition that made the project financially viable. The building’s mechanical equipment was kept in place as an aesthetic feature that enhances the uniqueness of the space. (James Brittain) Inside, a network of platforms span between large steel beams that once supported overhead cranes used to lift machinery, allowing new programs to float above the station’s derelict pumping equipment. This floor now contains office space and a restaurant. Newly punched skylights bring ample illumination to both. 546 Architecture encased the upper level in glass, using black steel studs and stiffening bars to reduce the glazing thickness, decreasing both the material waste and cost. The suspended architecture of the interior is mirrored outdoors, where the two residential additions are raised off the ground by steel columns. This is particularly true for Pumphouse’s eastern apartment block, which is nearly freestanding along Winnipeg’s waterfront, save for a small retail storefront. The western building contains a below-grade parking garage, with a discrete entrance located on the ground floor. An office occupies half of the pumping station’s new floor. (James Brittain) “Nothing on this project was driven by an intention to make it look like X or Y,” Sasa Radulovic, founding partner of 546 Architecture, told AN. “It was all driven by the bottom line and the realities of the site that we encountered. One of the first challenges was maintaining visibility of the historic pumphouse and creating a public realm that’s unified with spaces between the new and old buildings. With these two design drivers, we’ve elevated both buildings, relieving some of the pressures that building up to the property line inflicts on the pedestrian,” he added. In profile, the elevated building conveys a top-heavy appearance. (James Brittain) The north and south elevations of the apartment buildings are occupied by criss-crossing outdoor staircases that connect to open-air corridors between the individual units—a bold choice for Winnipeg, which is known for its cold winters. To provide some protection from the elements, the staircases are enclosed by corrugated metal screens. A similar corrugated cladding was applied to the opaque wall segments as well. “If the old building—which is essentially a shed that covers the pump—were built today, it would be a pre-engineered steel building with a corrugated metal facade, like those that are built in the suburbs,” added Radulovic. “[Corrugated metal] is an extremely sophisticated material because of its ability to span and to act as a perforated screen to create a ventilated facade without clips or any of the other extraneous elements that we use nowadays.” Each unit features an exposed nail-laminated timber ceiling. (James Brittain) This rational approach to architecture governed the entirety of the project. For the building’s circulation, 546 Architecture experimented with a “skip-stop” scheme, where corridors occur every second floor, necessitating that each unit span two floors and contain a staircase. This arrangement reduces embodied carbon and cost, while also enabling dual exposures in each unit. On the interior of the dwellings, the firm revived nail-laminated timber technology for the unit’s floors, a structural solution that was common in 20th-century industrial warehouses. 5468796 Architecture’s multi-family portfolio is united by little else than a reverence for the color black. The firm achieves variety through a creative problem-solving approach that is tailored to the unique conditions of each site. One of the more outlandish examples is a radial apartment building elevated on stilts. For its work, the firm was awarded this year’s Architectural Practice Award from the Royal Architectural Institute of Canada. Project Specifications Architect: 5468796 Architecture Client: Alston Properties Landscape Architect: Scatliff + Miller + Murray Structural Engineer: Lavergne Draward & Associates Mechanical, Electrical, and Civil Engineer: MCW Consultants Surveyor: Barnes & Duncan General Contractor: Brenton Construction Building Code Consultant: GHL Consultants Energy Consultant: Footprint Corrugated Steel: Vicwest Curtain Wall: U.S. Aluminum