Description of Historic Place

The Arc Biotech Building (No. 34) is located at the Central Experimental Farm in Ottawa. The rectangular building is a two-storey, red brick structure, topped by a hipped roof with gabled dormers at the short ends. A transom window and projecting pediment with mock half-timbering distinguishes the building’s central entranceway. The balanced arrangement of roof dormers and windows on the façades, reflect the building’s interior layout. The designation is confined to the footprint of the building.

Heritage Value

The Arc Biotech Building (No. 34) is a Recognized Federal Heritage Building because of its historical associations, and its architectural and environmental value.

Historical Value
The Arc Biotech Building (No. 34) is closely associated with the development of the Experimental Farm system in Canada. The building housed the offices and laboratories of the Poultry Division, which was established in 1888 in accordance with the Farm’s 1886 mandate to introduce new and profitable farming methods to Canada. The building is named after Harry Stoneman Gutteridge, a scientist who worked as a researcher and as Divisional Chief in the Poultry Division. During his tenure, Mr. Gutteridge contributed to an increased application of scientific disciplines in solving the problems of a rapidly expanding and developing poultry industry.

Architectural Value
The Arc Biotech Building (No. 34) is valued for its good aesthetic qualities typical of the smaller science and administration buildings built in the 1920s. In keeping with the farm’s architectural program, the building’s vernacular character is further revealed through its good materials and craftsmanship, such as the brickwork, painted wood trim, pitched roof dormers and asphalt-shingled roof. The good functional design of the Arc Biotech Building (No. 34) accommodates offices, a library, laboratories for general Animal Genetics, and file storage in the attic.

Environmental Value
The Arc Biotech Building (No. 34) is an important part of the science and administration group of buildings located within the central core of the farm. The building reinforces the picturesque character of its green space setting at the farm and is familiar within the immediate area.

Sources:Arc Biotech Building, Building 34, Central Experimental Farm National Historic Site, Federal Heritage Buildings Review Office, Building Report, INF 96-129; Arc Biotech Building (Building No.34), Central Experimental Farm, Heritage Character Statement, 96-129.

Character-Defining Elements

The following character-defining elements of the Arc Biotech Building (No. 34) should be respected.

Its good aesthetic design, good functional design and good materials and craftsmanship, for example:
-the two-and-a-half storey rectangular mass;
-the shingled hipped roof with mock half-timbering and roof dormers;
-the arrangement of windows and dormers, which accentuate the balanced proportions of the façades and reflect the building’s interior layout;
-the interior layout of the building with rooms arranged off a central corridor, each having access to a set of windows;
-the ornamental eave dentils, the entrance topped by a transom window and the projecting pediment with mock half-timbering;
-the subtle brick coursing pattern on the red brick walls, painted wood trim and the high concrete foundation;
-the multi-pane windows in the building’s main double, wooden doors;
-the interior finishes, including the unpainted wood mouldings and flat plaster.

The manner in which the Arc Biotech Building (No. 34) reinforces the picturesque character of its green space setting at the farm and is a neighbourhood landmark, as evidenced by:
-its residential scale and character, masonry work and mock half-timbering, which are in keeping with the farm’s architectural program, and harmonize with the surrounding green space of mature trees and ornamental shrubs;
-its role as part of a group of administration and science buildings located within the central core area of the farm, which makes it familiar within the immediate area.