Victoria’s Morgan Block: A Heritage Conservation Case Study

Victoria’s Old Town is a cherished historic district with preserved architecture. Development guidelines protect its character while accommodating growth. This panel discussion involving some of Victoria’s most respected architects and Heritage professionals will examine one proposal’s journey through the approval process, exploring context, regulations, and design deliberations.

 
Cost: $20 members / $30 suggested for non-members (sliding scale) / cash at door only
 
 
Speakers:
 

Donald Luxton

Donald Luxton has practised in the field of heritage conservation since 1983, and has demonstrated experience in all aspects of heritage planning and restoration. His reputation as a heritage consultant, educator and author has been firmly established on projects throughout British Columbia, the Yukon and Alberta. Mr. Luxton’s past projects include the restoration of residential, commercial, and institutional buildings. Recent restoration projects include Mole Hill Community Housing, Streamline Place (Heritage Award, 2000), and the PGE Railway Station (Heritage Society of B.C. Provincial Heritage Award, 1998). Other conservation projects include the City of Whitehorse Heritage Management Plan (1999), B.C. Packers, Steveston, Heritage Interpretive Plan (1997-2000), and Municipal Heritage Management Plans for the City of Nanaimo (1998), the Corporation of Delta (1998-1999), the District of Saanich (1999), and the City of Port Moody (2000).
 

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Steve Barber

Steve Barber is the former Senior Heritage Planner for the City of Victoria Planning & Development Department. He was the Heritage Planner in Victoria for 28 years and prior to that, was a Heritage Planner for 8 years in Winnipeg. He received a Masters of Environmental Design in Architecture from the University of Calgary and has lectured on heritage conservation at the University of Victoria, Simon Fraser University and numerous conferences. In 1998 he helped develop the City’s Tax Incentive Program for Residential Conversion which has resulted in the rehabilitation of 34 downtown heritage buildings, creating over 600 units of new housing and attracting over $100 million in new private investment. This program was given awards by the local Hallmark Society, The Canadian Association of Heritage Professionals and by the Canadian Home Builder’s Association.
 

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Shaun McIntyre

Shaun McIntyre has been with the renowned Merrick Architecture practice for 26 years, becoming a Principal and owner in 2014 after serving as a Managing Associate of the Victoria Studio since 2010. He is a LEED® AP and AIBC Registered Architect. He has served on the City of Victoria’s Advisory Design Panel, and Vancouver’s Gastown Heritage Area Planning Committee. Shaun is an accomplished designer, providing project leadership with a focus on client engagement, in addition to his daily management of the Victoria Studio. He is especially skilled in the preparation of conceptual designs during the project visioning stage and has contributed to a wide range of complex rezoning initiatives on Vancouver Island and the Mainland. Shaun has been involved with complex heritage rehabilitation projects, including the Hudson’s Bay redevelopment, the historic Janion Hotel, the Johnson Street Gateway (formerly the Northern Junk), the Victoria Public Market at the Hudson, and the Morgan Block.
 

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Merinda Conley

Merinda Conley is the principal owner of Community Design Strategies Inc., which was incorporated in 2006. Merinda holds a Master of Environmental Design in Architecture, an Honours Diploma in Architectural Technology, and a Certificate in Management Development from The University of Alberta’s School of Business. She is a certified member of the Royal Architectural Institute of Canada, certified under the National Charrette Institute, and an Associate Member of the American Institute of Architects. She is a recipient of over sixteen awards, including a Canadian Institute of Planners Award of Merit in 2019, a Gold Medal from the American Institute of Architects and two Alberta Premier’s Awards of Excellence for her professional contributions, delivery and management of the Alberta Main Street Program. Merinda’s focus is on her consulting work with heritage conservation, main street revitalization, public engagement, and design and illustration. Her heritage conservation services include working with communities to survey their local heritage resources, identify Places of Interest, develop heritage inventories, prepare context papers and heritage management plans with interactive management tools. She also prepares conservation plans, heritage impact assessments, and various protocols for appropriate building conservation. Merinda is also Associate Director of the award- winning Co-Design Group based out of Vancouver and Calgary, and is a core Co-Design architect/artist facilitator. She also co-author of the book Co-Design: A Process of Design Participation published in 1989 by Van Nostrand Reinhold in New York.

At the time of the Morgan Block and Watson & McGregor application Merinda was serving as the Senior Heritage Planner for the City of Victoria.
 

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Pamela Madoff

Pamela Madoff is a prominent former city councillor and a dedicated advocate for heritage preservation, architecture, and urban design in Victoria, British Columbia. She served on the Victoria City Council for 25 years. Born and raised in Victoria, Pamela developed an interest in urban form and heritage preservation early on, becoming an activist in local movements to save historic buildings from demolition in the 1980s. Before entering politics, her experience included writing and lecturing on architectural history, preservation, and urban planning. Pamela was first elected to the Victoria City Council in 1993, where she served for an uninterrupted stretch until 2018. During her tenure, she was known as the city’s “conscience” on matters of land use, urban design, and built form. Since leaving the city council, Pamela has remained active in the field of heritage preservation. She was honoured with a Lifetime Achievement Award by Heritage B.C. in 2019 for her contributions. She continues to serve as chairwoman of the Victoria Heritage Advisory Panel, a member of the Advisory Design Panel, and a board member of the Civic Trust and the Heritage Foundation.
 

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Douglas Campbell

Doug Campbell is an architect with experience in a wide range of projects. After a career of over 25 years with Carruthers and Associates and Cannon Design in Calgary and Vancouver, he moved to Victoria and set up a practice in focused on residential projects. Doug was a council member and President of the Aberta Association of Architects, and served on the Victoria Heritage Advisory Panel from 2017 to 2020. He is registered with the AIBC and is a Fellow of the RAIC.