Semple-Gooder Roofing Limited: Ryerson University, Heaslip House

from - Canada Copper - issue #154

The G. Raymond Chang School of Continuing Education
Ryerson University - Heaslip House

semple gooder roofing and sheetmetal copper cladding

Heaslip House is the new home of Ryerson University's G. Raymond Chang School of Continuing Education, which opened late in 2005. It is located at the heart of the Ryerson campus on Victoria Street in Toronto, floating above the famous centre-piece of the campus, Lake Devonshire. This state-of-the-art facility will bring together all of the Chang School's operations, currently spread across five locations of the downtown campus.

It is an interesting mix of both historical restoration and contemporary construction. Design architects were Lett Architects of Peterborough (who were also responsible for the addition to the Shaw Festival Theatre in Niagara-on-the-Lake, featured in Bulletin No. 152) in conjunction with con- tract architects, the Toronto firm of Rounthwaite Dick & Hadley. The Chang School is very much a landmark structure.

The original building on the site, O'Keefe House, was designed by Toronto architect Alfred H. Chapman, and constructed in 1938-39. Built as the headquarters of E.P. Taylor's Canadian Breweries Limited, the building served for many years as the home of radio station CJRT. Part of the latest project involved preserving the art deco façade of the original structure, which includes carvings by sculptor Frances Loring.

One of the new building's primary features is 16-oz. copper cladding, which appears around the front and back of the structure, only interrupted by the glazed overhang at the north end. The cladding was installed in squares, over Roofshield* (a commonly specified one piece underlayment used frequently with copper building systems), on a metal substrate due to the building being classified as noncombustible.

semple gooder roofing and sheetmetal copper cladding The cladding was installed by Semple Gooder Roofing Ltd., of Toronto, a firm with many years experience with copper roofing and cladding. The field supervisor for the project was Ken Dignam with design assistance from John Kubassek. Approximately 23,000 pounds (10,500 kgs) of sheet copper was supplied by Canadian Brass & Copper of Concord, Ontario.

In the last few years, Ryerson has seen a building boom like at no other time in its history. Many of these projects feature copper as a reference to some of the older buildings on the campus, such as the Rogers Communication Building and Kerr Hall. As the University expands and space becomes at more of a premium in their downtown neighbourhood, the use of such beautiful and durable natural materials will be rewarded.

* Trademark

Semple Gooder Roofing Limited has been a roofing contractor serving the Toronto Commercial and Industrial communities for more than 50 years and has gradually expanded from Toronto to include branch offices in Sudbury, Belleville and Kitchener-Waterloo and London, Ontario. Our reputation for roofing quality and service is unique, and is zealously guarded by the Semple Gooder team.

Semple Gooder is a founding member of both the Canadian Roofing Contractors Association (CRCA) and the Ontario Industrial Roofing Contractors Association (OIRCA), and is also a long-time member of National Roofing Contractors Association (NRCA) of the United States.

If you are a commercial, industrial or institutional organization and require new, restorative or service work done to your roof, cladding, siding, sheet metal or steel deck, contact Semple Gooder.