Description of Historic Place
CFB Esquimalt, Dockyard, Clothing and Receiving Stores Building D211, a monolithic flat-roofed, concrete structure, occupies a site on Hospital Road opposite the main gatehouse. It is distinguished by the horizontal emphasis of its roof, and bands of windows separated by continuous horizontal spandrel panels. Two vertical forms mark the main entrances to the building. The designation is confined to the footprint of the building.
Heritage Value
CFB Esquimalt, Dockyard, Clothing and Receiving Stores Building D211 is a Recognized Federal Heritage Building because of its historical associations, and its architectural and environmental value.
Historical Value
CFB Esquimalt, Dockyard, Clothing and Receiving Stores Building D211 is closely associated with the first wartime building expansion of the dockyard. It is also associated with the function of the dockyard as a fleet servicing facility during World War II.
Architectural Value
CFB Esquimalt, Dockyard, Clothing and Receiving Stores Building D211 is a good example of a utilitarian storage building that exhibits features of the modern architectural style. It is distinguished by its simple expression, emphasized horizontality and vertical forms characteristic of classical modern federal architecture in the period of the 1930s to the 1950s.
The Environmental Value
Due to its massive scale, CFB Esquimalt, Dockyard, Clothing and Receiving Stores Building D211 dominates the entrance to the dockyard. It maintains a physical and visual relationship with a grouping of buildings from the World War II expansion of the dockyard, and reinforces the character of Hospital Road. It also maintains an unchanged relationship to its site, part of the parcel of land expropriated from the Village of Esquimalt.
Sources:
Building D211, Esquilmalt Dockyard, British Columbia, Federal Heritage Building Report, 89-202; Building D211(former Clothing and Receiving Stores) Esquimalt Dockyard, Esquilmalt, British Columbia, Heritage Character Statement, 89-202.
Character-Defining Elements
The character-defining elements of CFB Esquimalt, Dockyard, Clothing and Receiving Stores Building D211 should be respected.
Its functional structure designed in a modern architectural style such as:
-its simple monolithic, four-storey structure constructed of reinforced concrete;
-its strong horizontal character emphasized by the flat-roof and the horizontal bands of windows separated by continuous, horizontal spandrel panels;
-its deepest window band on the main floor that provides a base to the building while the upper floors are uniformly narrower;
-its main elevations that are predominantly flat in character;
-its two vertical forms that project slightly from the wall surface and mark two entrances to the building and the vertical circulation of the interior;
-its texture emphasized by the divided window bands.
The manner in which CFB Esquimalt, Dockyard, Clothing and Receiving Stores Building D211 maintains an unchanged relationship to its site and reinforces the character of the streetscape along Hospital Road and the Dockyard as evidenced by:
-its ongoing relationship to its site;
-its strong visual relationships and the consistency of its design associated with the World War II expansion of the dockyard.
