5468796 Architecture
Owner/ Client: Alston Properties
Interior / exterior area, in square metres: 7108
Exact construction contract value / building cost of the project: $22 million
Date of Occupancy: December 1, 2023
Pumphouse is a mixed-use rehabilitation project in Winnipeg’s Exchange District. After 14 attempts to revitalize the historic structure, 5468796 Architecture saved the site from demolition by crafting a development model and a financial pro-forma, and connecting the right combination of development and tenant parties. Two interventions made the project viable: repurposing the original gantry crane rail to suspend a ‘floating floor’ above the equipment below; and proposing a residential block on the 40-foot sliver of site between the historic building and Waterfront Drive. Approaching the pumphouse as a “found object”, flanked by multi-family residential components and weaving public space between, the site was brought back to life.
Abridged Project Credits:
(see Architecture Canada publication out in Fall 2024 for more details)
PHOTO - James Brittain
PHOTO - James Brittain
PHOTO - James Brittain
PHOTO - James Brittain
PHOTO - James Brittain
PHOTO - Ralph Gutierrez
PHOTO - James Brittain
The jury noted the excellence of this sensitive and convincing rehabilitation, which demonstrates a deep understanding of the site's potential and qualities, proposing adapted programs and additions integrated into the logic of the existing elements. Using the load-bearing capacity of the gantry crane rails to support a new floating floor frees up floor space and highlights the architectural qualities of the building and the industrial equipment as artifacts of the former use. The densification of the site with two new residential buildings ensures the feasibility of the project. The jury also appreciated the way in which the apartments are distributed by external walkways, offering to each of them double exposure and through-ventilation.
2024 Jury