Description of Historic Place

The EMR Complex: Fuel Testing Laboratory is part of the Energy, Mines and Resources Canmet complex on Booth Street. Built as an office and a laboratory, it consists of a three storey, brick block, to which a large laboratory building is attached at the back. The office has a symmetrical arrangement of windows and doors. The laboratory has multiple factory style windows and a pitched metal roof with monitor. The designation is confined to the footprint of the building.

Heritage Value

The EMR Complex: Fuel Testing Laboratory is a Recognized Federal Heritage Building because of its historical associations, and its architectural and environmental values.

Historical Value:
The EMR Complex: Fuel Testing Laboratory, as part of the Booth Street complex of buildings is one of the best examples of a structure associated with the development of the Canadian mining and energy industry during the boom period of the 1920s. It is also specifically associated with research in the field of efficient use of Canadian fuels.

Architectural Value:
Valued for its good aesthetics and functional qualities the EMR Complex: Fuel Testing Laboratory is a purpose built structure almost devoid of ornament. The office block has simple classical lines, while the attached laboratory is industrial in design, scale and detail. Its very good functional design can be seen in the interior layout of the laboratory, whose form was determined by the functional and safety requirements of coke testing. A third storey, designed by W.E. Noffke, was added to house the chemistry and physics laboratory in 1937-38. Good craftsmanship and materials are evident in the brickwork.

Environmental Value:
The EMR Complex: Fuel Testing Laboratory is compatible with its mixed industrial/residential setting.

Sources:
Shannon Ricketts, Four Structures on the EMR Complex, Ottawa, Ontario, Heritage Buildings Review Office, Report 86-061; The Fuel Testing Laboratory, 562 Booth Street, Ottawa, Ontario, Heritage Character Statement 86-061.

Character-Defining Elements

The character-defining elements of the EMR Complex: Fuel Testing Laboratory should be respected.

Its good aesthetic, very good functional design and good quality materials, for example:

As seen in the office block:
-the two-storey massing of the office block;
-the central main entrance with stone surround and entablature with a large window above, and the double-sash windows;
-the sheet metal cornice;
-the concrete basement;
-the interior layout and finishes.

As seen in the attached laboratory:
-the industrial-scale massing of the larger laboratory building;
-the flat roof and the pitched roof crowned by a monitor with ventilator;
-the exterior walls of brick and the high, multi-paned factory style windows;
-the functional interior configuration.

The manner in which the Fuel Testing Laboratory is compatible with its mixed industrial, residential setting, as evidenced by:
-its massing, materials and design that reinforces the other buildings within the complex and adjacent properties.