Description of Historic Place

Vimy Barracks Building B7 is a large, white, two-storey, reinforced concrete building with an E-shaped plan. The building’s symmetrical façade consists of a monumental portico flanked by two-storey wings with six bays of windows, continuous concrete bands between the floors and at the cornice line, setback corners, and hipped roofs. Vimy Barracks Building B7 is located at the northern edge of the Vimy Barracks, near the entrance along Highway 2. The designation is confined to the footprint of the building.

Heritage Value

Vimy Barracks Building B7 has been designated Recognized because of its historical associations, architectural qualities, and environmental significance.

Historical value:
Built in 1957, Vimy Barracks Building B7 represents the expansion of the Canadian Armed Forces during the Cold War, and illustrates an aspect of the national historical theme of the defence of Canada. As a permanent and high quality accommodation, it was part of an effort to provide better living conditions for the military, and constitutes a convenient example of the expansion and modernization of the Kingston military complex at that time.

Architectural value:
The Vimy Barracks Building B7 is a good example of a post-war, standard plan military building. The large, two-storey, reinforced concrete building combines elements of a modernist character and of a modern “stripped” Classicism. Built in accordance with a standard plan for a 250-man, barracks and constructed of good quality materials and craftsmanship, the building’s E-shaped plan has proven to be a good functional design.

Environmental value:
Vimy Barracks Building B7 reinforces the formal and homogenous campus-like setting of Vimy Barracks, due to the formality and prominence of its siting, and the similarity of its design with other buildings of the complex. Set in a relatively unchanged open area that faces onto the northern edge of Vimy Barracks, the building’s location and monumental scale also contribute to its status as a familiar landmark within the community of the base.

Sources:
Alexandra Mosquin, 7 Buildings at the Vimy Barracks, CFB Kingston, Ontario. Federal Heritage Buildings Review Office Building Report 00-106.

Vimy Barracks Building B7, Vimy Barracks, CFB Kingston, Ontario. Heritage Character Statement 00-106.

Character-Defining Elements

The following character-defining elements of Vimy Barracks Building B7 should be respected, for example:

Its role as an illustration of the 1950s expansion of the Canadian Military and as part of an effort to provide good living conditions for the military is reflected in:
-the use of an efficient, standard design and E-shaped plan, which provides natural lighting and ventilation throughout the building.

Its aesthetic design as manifested in:
-the building’s monumental scale and simple, symmetrical massing;
-the prominent frontal entrance consisting of a portico with a strong vertical emphasis expressed in its
-streamlined columns and double-height windows; and,
-the contrasting horizontality of the lateral wings, expressed in the projecting blocks of windows recessed at the
-corners, the horizontal openings, the string courses above the first and second storey levels and the bands
-along the base of the windows.

The manner in which the building reinforces the formal and homogenous campus-like setting of Vimy Barracks, as evidenced in:
-its prominent location, between two open areas at the northern edge of the base and facing the road; and,
-the similarity of its scale and design with other buildings at Vimy Barracks namely, the almost identical B6 Barracks.