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Building O-109 (NCO Building)

Essa, Ontario, Canada

Formally Recognized: 1995/04/11

View of the main entrance to Building O-109 (NCO Building), showing the symmetrical plan and horizontally emphasized massing of the building, 1992.; Department of National Defence / Ministère de la Défense nationale, 1992.
General View
Side elevation of Building O-109 (NCO Building), CFB Borden, 1992.; Department of National Defence / Ministère de la Défense nationale, 1992.
Façade
Rear view of Building O-109 (NCO Building), showing the building's modern style, 1992.; Department of National Defence / Ministère de la Défense nationale, 1992.
General View

Other Name(s)

Building O-109 (NCO Building)
Non-commissioned Officers' Quarters
Quartiers des sous-officiers
Non-commissioned Officers' Building
Bâtiment des sous-officiers

Links and documents

Construction Date(s)

1952/01/01

Listed on the Canadian Register: 2008/06/30

Statement of Significance

Description of Historic Place

Building O-109 (NCO Building), also known as the Non-commissioned Officers’ Building or Quarters, is a large building located on the north side of an open parade-square lawn at Canadian Forces Base Borden. This rectangular structure features a flat roof behind a low parapet wall. The main entrance is set behind six rectangular pillars within a projecting central portico. The designation is confined to the footprint of the building.

Heritage Value

Building O-109 (NCO Building) is a Recognized Federal Heritage Building because of its historical associations, and its architectural and environmental value.

Historical Value
Building O-109 (NCO Building) is associated with the massive construction and modernization program undertaken by the Department of National Defence (DND) at the end of the Second World War. More specifically, it is associated with the creation of permanent peacetime armed forces as well as the expansion and transformation of the military services to meet specific national commitments in the early years of the Cold War. This barracks block was an early component of the post-Second World War expansion of the base to accommodate a wide variety of new housing.

Architectural Value
Building O-109 (NCO Building) is a good example of a military building that combines architectural modernism and functionalism in a durable and economical form. Characterized by its symmetrical plan, flat roof and horizontal emphasis, the overall effect of the building is of a modernist hybrid of formalism and Prairie-style accents. It was a project developed by DND staff as an exemplar for the new standards of improved accommodations that followed the Second World War.

Environmental Value
Building O-109 (NCO Building) maintains an unchanged relationship to its site and is compatible with the present character of its military setting at Canadian Forces Base Borden. The building is familiar at the base.

Sources: Canadian Forces Base Borden, Ontario, Federal Heritage Building Review Office Building Report (SCR) 94-088; NCO Quarters, Building O-109, Canadian Forces Base Borden, Ontario, Heritage Character Statement, 94-088.

Character-Defining Elements

The character-defining elements of Building O-109 (NCO Building) should be respected.

Its modern style and functionalism, for example:
-the symmetrical plan and horizontally emphasized massing of the building as seen in its flat roofscape, parapets and the wrap-around continuity of the projecting belt courses;
-the symmetrical main elevation, with articulated corner accents and the emphasized and elaborated principal frontage, with its projecting portico and recessed entrance.

The manner in which Building O-109 (NCO Building) maintains an unchanged relationship to its site, is compatible with its military setting and is a familiar building at Canadian Forces Base Borden, as evidenced by:
-its ongoing relationship to its site on the north frontage of an open parade-square lawn;
-its overall design, scale and materials, which maintain a relationship to the matching building T-114, are compatible with its grouping of similar buildings at the base;
-its visibility vis-à-vis its scale and location which makes it a familiar building at the base.

Recognition

Jurisdiction

Federal

Recognition Authority

Government of Canada

Recognition Statute

Treasury Board Heritage Buildings Policy

Recognition Type

Recognized Federal Heritage Building

Recognition Date

1995/04/11

Historical Information

Significant Date(s)

n/a

Theme - Category and Type

Function - Category and Type

Current

Historic

Defence
Residential Facility

Architect / Designer

Department of Public Works

Builder

n/a

Additional Information

Location of Supporting Documentation

National Historic Sites Directorate, Documentation Centre, 5th Floor, Room 89, 25 Eddy Street, Gatineau, Quebec

Cross-Reference to Collection

Fed/Prov/Terr Identifier

10134

Status

Published

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