Description of Historic Place

The Industrial Minerals and Ceramics Laboratory is part of a cohesive complex of offices and laboratories on Booth Street. The building is a three-storey brick cube of five-bays wide with multi-paned sash windows and centre entranceway. Its restrained decoration includes a sheet metal cornice. The entrance features a stone surround and entablature. The designation is confined to the footprint of the building.

Heritage Value

The Industrial Minerals and Ceramics Laboratory is a Recognized Federal Heritage Building because of its historical associations, and its architectural and environmental values.

Historical Value:
The Industrial Minerals and Ceramics Laboratory, as part of the Booth Street complex of buildings is one of the best examples of a structure associated with the development of the Canadian mining and energy industries in general. It is specifically associated with research into the use of non-metallic industrial minerals and ceramics.

Architectural Value:
The Industrial Minerals and Ceramics 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 Industrial Minerals and Ceramics Laboratory is compatible with its industrial complex setting.

Sources:
Shannon Ricketts, Four Structures on the EMR Complex, Booth Street, Ottawa, Ontario, Heritage Buildings Review Office, Report 86-061.

The Industrial Minerals and Ceramics Laboratory, 405 Rochester Street, Ottawa, Ontario, Heritage Character Statement 86-061.

Character-Defining Elements

The character-defining elements of the Industrial Minerals and Ceramics Laboratory should be respected, for example:

Its good aesthetic, its very good functional design and good quality materials, for example:

-The square, three-storey massing;
-The steel frame construction, the brick exterior, the reinforced concrete floors, and the main roof slab also of concrete;
-The exterior walls clad in brick, the industrial steel framed, multi-paned sash windows;
-The metal cornice;
-The central main entrance with stone surround and entablature;
-The interior configuration of the laboratories that are functionally laid out and finished with ceramic tile.

The manner in which the Industrial Minerals and Ceramics Laboratory is compatible with its industrial complex setting, as evidenced by:

-Its massing, materials and design that harmonize with the other buildings within the complex.