University of Guelph starts dismantling historic greenhouse

Demolition work has begun at a greenhouse on the University of Guelph campus. Heather Senoran tells us why some are still trying to save it.

The University of Guelph has started the process of tearing down a historic greenhouse on the school’s campus, even as some members of the community continue to try and save it.

On Thursday, a spokesperson for the school said stonework and some interior work was being removed.

History of the conservatory

The pagoda-style glass structure was originally built in the 1930s for the Ontario Agricultural College and, for years, served as the entryway into a series of working greenhouses used to teach floriculture, the cultivation and management or ornamental and flowering plants.

When the working greenhouses were demolished in the late 1980s and1990s, the focus shifted to public enjoyment. The conservatory then required significant repairs, including the replacement of most of its glass and wood, and in 1998 it was funded, in large part, by alum Donald M. Rutherford. The conservatory was then renamed in his honour.

Current conditions

Wood rot forced the school to close the building to the public in November 2023.

Then, in December 2024, city councillors gave the university the go-ahead to demolish the structure. They approved a plan to tear down the conservatory and replace it with a commemorative garden, but councillors asked that any salvageable steel elements be listed as heritage attributes and incorporate the limestone and glass into the new design.

On Jan. 17, the school said “preparatory work” for the “careful deconstruction” of the DM Rutherford Family Conservatory had begun.

The demolition is expected to take between four and six weeks.

In a news release, the school said structural engineers told them there was an urgent need to dismantle some parts of the building before the winter weather set in. The university also said an engineer who was certified with the Canadian Association of Heritage Professionals was overseeing the work.

Cost to save the conservatory

The University of Guelph said it commissioned independent structural engineering teams to assess the conservatory. Each one, they explained, told them a rebuild or upgrade wouldn’t be feasible.

“Its high-humidity interior environment repeatedly causes significant, unavoidable wood rot and steel corrosion, which is what led to restoration in 1998 and resulted in current concerns,” a spokesperson for the university said.

They also stated that two independent estimates determined the rebuilding or reglaciating of the conservatory would cost at least $5 million, while the cost of annual maintenance, if needed, would be up to $250,000.

Fight to save the greenhouse

Walter Kehm is now retired, but for 14 years he was the director at the School of Landscape Architecture at the University of Guelph.

He now part of a committee of concerned residents who are outraged over the decision to demolish the structure.

“It’s a betrayal, in my view, of all the good intentions, the overtures that we have made,” Kehm said. “[Now,] to simply sideswipe us and say we’re irrelevant because somebody has made the decision, a top-down decision.”

He understands the concerns around but claims there weren’t enough details provided when it was discussed at last month’s council meeting.

Kehm wishes the university could be more transparent.

“We cannot even have access to the so-called technical reports that were prepared to justify their position. They say $5 million. All our consultants say that’s outrageous and is not realistic. So where does that $5 million for the little greenhouse go? 50 feet by 50 feet. Where did that come from?”

Kehm believes there were other options the university could have pursued.

“Flexible panels can be put on greenhouses, or conservatories, to generate electricity. You keep the dome, but you open up the sides of the building, take the glazing off the sides,” he suggested.

A university spokesperson said the school met with Kehm to discuss the future of the site.

“We have also provided Mr. Kehm with multiple updates as we advance our plans for the next life cycle of the site in accordance with the plans for deconstruction, approved by city council on Dec. 10, 2024,” the university’s spokesperson said.

Kehm insisted he tried to reach out numerous times since but hasn’t heard back.

He also said he donates to the school often but has vowed to stop if the conservatory is torn down.

“If they did demolish it, my six-figure [donation] is gone. I will not support a tyranny of decision-making.”

What’s next?

The University of Guelph said it will be launching a design competition in the fall of 2025 and students taking landscape architecture will be invited to contribute their ideas for the commemorative garden.

“Students will be asked to honour the legacy of the conservatory and reuse materials in their proposed designs where possible, including a requirement to incorporate some quantity of salvageable steel.”