Description of Historic Place

The Ore Dressing Laboratory is part of the Energy, Mines and Resources (EMR) Canmet Complex on Booth Street. The building is a three-storey brick cube. Its restrained exterior decoration includes stringcourses and decorative pressed metal panels between the first and second floor windows. The central entrance features a stone surround and entablature. The designation is confined to the footprint of the building.

Heritage Value

The Ore Dressing Laboratory is a Recognized Federal Heritage Building because of its historical associations, and its architectural and environmental values.

Historical Value:
The Ore Dressing Laboratory, as part of the Booth Street complex of buildings, is a very good example of a building associated with the development of the Canadian mining and energy industries. It is specifically associated with research in the field of developing commercially viable methods of recovering metal from ores. It was designed to accommodate tests and investigations of the Ore Dressing and Metallurgical Division.

Architectural Value:
The Ore Dressing Laboratory is valued for its good aesthetics. Classical influence can be seen in the symmetry and order of the facades and the centrally located entrance. Clean, functional lines and durable materials speak to its industrial role. Very good functional design is seen in the building’s fireproof purpose-built construction, consisting of a steel frame, brick-clad exterior, with concrete slab floors. Good craftsmanship is seen in the masonry.

Environmental Value:
The Ore Dressing Laboratory is compatible with its industrial complex setting and is known within the immediate area.

Sources: Shannon Ricketts, Four Structures on the EMR Complex, Booth Street, Ottawa, Ontario, Heritage Buildings Review Office, Report 86-061: The Ore Dressing Laboratory, 552 Booth Street, Ottawa, Ontario, Heritage Character Statement 86-061.

Character-Defining Elements

The following character-defining elements of the Ore Dressing Laboratory should be respected.

Its good aesthetic, its very good functional design and good quality materials, for example:
-the square, three-storey massing;
-the fireproof construction, consisting of a steel frame, brick-clad exterior, with concrete used for the floors, main roof slab and roof monitor;
-the exterior walls clad in brick, the industrial steel framed, multi-paned sash windows, some with decorative panels;
-the string cornices at the ground and third floors, and the metal cornice;
-the central main entrance with stone surround and entablature;
-the interior configuration of the laboratories.

The manner in which the Ore Dressing Laboratory is compatible with its industrial complex setting, and known within the immediate area, as evidenced by:
-its massing, materials and design that harmonize with the other buildings within the complex bounded by Booth and Norman streets;
-its visibility in the immediate area due to its scale, massing and main entrance facing Booth Street.