It could cost more than three-quarters of a million dollars to fix the chronically leaking sloped glass that’s a defining feature of St. Albert’s iconic city hall.
According to a report by city administration, the least costly of three options is to spend $184,000 cleaning up the existing structure, which has visible corrosion and rust. This option recommends the city stop running water over the windows and beef up its mechanical cooling system. The glass water wall was designed to be a visual feature that also helps cool the building.
A second option would be to spend $775,000 on a new sloping glass system. But even with advances in aluminum framing systems and bead silicone, continuing to spray water would negate any guarantees or warranties, the report states.
The third option would be a new vertical glass system that would maintain the existing wall curvature but not the 60 degree slope. Pegged at $725,000, this option would allow water to fall while not contacting the wall.
“It’s been a frustration for all of us with the perpetual leaking that’s gone on virtually since the day the building opened but I wouldn’t want to offend the architecture of the building by doing anything that would minimize that,” said city manager Bill Holtby.
For Holtby, getting rid of the sloping glass and shutting off the waterfall are both non-starters, as each would run counter to the original vision of the building.
“We need to find an engineering solution to [the sloped glass,]” Holtby said.
St. Albert Place was designated as a municipal historic resource in 2009. This means that any potential changes are scrutinized to ensure they fit with the original design. In consultation with council, Holtby has the final say in these decisions but generally consults with the museum director and architect-historian David Murray, he said.
City administration compiled the report in response to an information request by Mayor Nolan Crouse. The report is an updated version of an engineering review the city commissioned in 2005.
Now that he’s seen the costs involved, Crouse said he’s not going to pursue the matter any further.
“At this point I don’t want to spend any extra money,” he said.
The city spends $20,000 a year replacing and resealing glass panels, the report said. However, water buckets are the norm inside the atrium and corrosion is easily visible on the framing members. The existing aluminum hasn’t deteriorated enough to require replacement but public works has testing planned for 2011.
The city is managing with the status quo, said Doug Todd, the city’s manager of asset management. Public works has its glass replacement routine down to a science, with workers moving in as soon as the weather allows in the spring and completing the work before the children’s festival begins in May, Todd said.
“We’re very proud of this building and there’s a lot of emphasis placed on maintaining it as [originally conceived,]” Todd said.
Architect Douglas Cardinal said he was unaware of leakage problems at the building, which opened in 1984 and helped launch his internationally acclaimed career.
He said research of other buildings of the time led him to the idea of running water over the sloped glass, which he had installed under the guidance and specifications of the manufacturers.
He said it’s up to the building owners to fix the wall as they see fit, but he wouldn’t like to see the sloped glass replaced or the water stop flowing.
“It looks really a lot of fun to see the water go over the glass like that,” Cardinal said.
