Halifax, Nova Scotia

Constructing a functional, modern addition to a 200-year-old complex was just one of the challenges of this demanding project.

The traders and merchants who built the warehouses of Historic Properties two centuries ago certainly didn’t plan for the demands of modern retailing. That was one of the challenges BMR faced when they sat down to design the new food court overlooking Halifax harbour. The facility had to support a variety of modern businesses, yet stay within the early 19th century character of the Historic Properties complex.

First an old warehouse in British Columbia was disassembled and the weathered heavy timber framing was shipped to Nova Scotia to be used as the construction material - the wood members carefully resawn and reshaped to be used in the new building. Interior beams were left exposed to give the structure a “19th century warehouse” look.

BMR developed complex, custom-designed connections to attach the wood members together and to provide strength to the structure. The building was then carefully and delicately connected to an existing building at Historic Properties that was nearly 200 years old.

The bedrock under the new building was located under tons of loose, unstable fill material in Halifax harbour. With cost a key consideration, BMR used a technique known as surcharging - piling a large amount of additional soil over the existing fill and leaving it there for a full year. The result - the existing fill was compressed to the point where it would serve as a stable foundation for the new food court.

Today, the Harbourside Market Food Court has become an important part of the Halifax waterfront - a piece of the city’s history that still manages to be a modern building in every way.