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.

Heritage Character Statement

Disclaimer - The heritage character statement was developed by FHBRO to explain the reasons for the designation of a federal heritage building and what it is about the building that makes it significant (the heritage character). It is a key reference document for anyone involved in planning interventions to federal heritage buildings and is used by FHBRO in their review of interventions.

Building D211 was constructed in 1942 as the main dockyard receiving stores as part of the wartime expansion of the dockyard. It is now the base supply office. The Department of National Defence is custodian of the building and the building is part of Esquimalt Naval Stations National Historic Site. See FHBRO Building Report 89-202, volume 2.

Reasons for Designation
Building D211 has been designated Recognized because of its historical associations, and for its architectural and environmental qualities.

Building D211 was one of the largest single buildings constructed during the first major World War II building expansion of the dockyard. Built as a bulk storage facility, this building is closely associated with the function of the dockyard as a fleet servicing facility during the war.

Although a utilitarian storage building, Building D211 has many of the characteristics of the moderne architectural style, simply expressed. Architecturally distinct from the scale, design and materials of the earlier dockyard buildings, Building D211 is clearly of the World War II period. It was constructed of reinforced concrete with extensive open storage areas.

The integrity of the site, part of the parcel of land expropriated from the Village of Esquimalt in 1942, remains high. Building D211 is readily identifiable as part of the World War II grouping of buildings strung along this stretch of the Hospital Road, which includes buildings 210, 212, 213 and 214.

Character Defining Elements
The heritage character of Building D211 resides in its association with the World War II expansion of the dockyard, its architectural design and its importance as one of a group of World War II dockyard buildings.

Building D211 is a monolithic, four-storey, flat-roofed utilitarian storage building constructed in reinforced concrete. Although very simple in its overall design, it is very much a design of the modern period. The building has a strong horizontal character emphasized by the flat roof and the horizontal bands of windows separated by continuous, horizontal spandrel panels. The deepest window band is on the main floor, providing a base to the building, while the upper floors are uniformly narrower.

The main elevations are predominantly flat in character. Two vertical forms projecting slightly from the wall surface are the main compositional elements; these mark two entrances to the building and the vertical circulation inside. These forms are characteristic of classical moderne federal architecture in the period from the 1930s to the 1950s. The main loading bay is centred on the main elevation. Although it is an important functional element in the history of the building, it is not a prominent compositional element. The main texture in the facade comes from the divided window bands. All of these features contribute to the stylistic character of the building and should be protected.

The interior of the building, constructed to provide bulk storage space, is now divided into offices. These areas could continue to be managed with flexibility, providing permanent and irreversible changes are not made to the concrete structure of the building.

Building D211 is part of a 'family' of buildings from the World War II expansion of the dockyard strung along Hospital Road, and as such share similar stylistic characteristics. The strong visual relationships and the consistency of design among this group, which includes buildings 210, 212, 213 and 214, should be maintained.