MAYFLOWER FACTORY

Driven by the spatial requirements of growing architectural practice and a desire to be situated in closer proximity to our urban fabrication shops, Peter Braithwaite Studio (PBS) sought to secure a new studio space within Halifax’s downtown core. After reviewing and visiting various rental opportunities, PBS resolved to undertake a type of adaptive reuse of a Halifax heritage property. Executing both the design and build aspects of this project, PBS endeavoured to create a new studio space that fit within our company’s design ethos and sustainable practices. Demonstrating strong cultural ties to the community as well as reinforcing the historic character of our city’s architectural development was paramount in our decision. What resulted was a functional adaptation of historic character building within Halifax’s progressive North End that also fulfills the requirements of our growing firm.

The space selected expressed historical associations with Halifax’s manufacturing history dating back to the early-to-mid 19th century, including three notable manufacturers: Mayflower Tobacco Company; Moirs Ltd.; and, W.H. Schwartz & Sons Limited. Over the years this rather modest scale building held an impressive and important role in the development of the Halifax North End community, housing a tobacco factory employing 130 people, a thriving family bakery, a flour mill, a confectionery plant to produce chocolate, a paper box plant, and a sawmill.

Throughout the years the burden poorly executed renovations and adaptations resulted in unnecessary devising walls, inappropriately applied materials and craft that eroded this building’s character. Our initial remediations included stripping the superfluous to once again expose the heavy timber post-and-beam framing that exemplified mortise and tenon timber connections that were customary for the time. Although brick clad heavy timber framed buildings were common throughout North America in the nineteenth century, the result fire, development, and the 1917 Halifax Explosion, has left our city with few buildings that bear these historic characteristics. As a result, we felt it was important to also expose the common bond red brick cladding which demonstrated the segmentally arched window with brick-inlaid solider voussoirs and a distinct cornice.

Architecture + Design: Peter Braithwaite Studio Ltd.

Construction + Millwork: Peter Braithwaite Studio Ltd.