John Sopinka Courthouse

Nominated for the Paul Oberman Award for Adaptive Reuse: Small-Scale/Individual/Small Business

The John Sopinka Courthouse is located in the downtown core of Hamilton. Built in 1935-1936 in the ‘Modern Classical’ architectural style, it is designated on the City’s Register of Property of Cultural Heritage Value or Interest. Notable features include the polished marble walls, designed to look like ashlar patterns with contrasting horizontal banding as mortar joints, and black, tan and grey marble floors set in a detailed pattern.

The Courthouse renovation portrays mitigation strategies on heritage resources while providing upgrades required by the Ministry of the Attorney General to provide the security infrastructure required for the courthouse. The challenge was the intervention on the existing Designated built heritage by requiring alterations to the existing marble floors and walls in the Heritage Lobby.

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