The Honourable Colm Imbert, Minister of Works and Transport, has kindly shared with the College community his speech delivered at the January 10th launch ceremony for the College Restoration Project.
He includes a researched précis of the school’s architectural history and provides a fairly detailed synopsis of the work planned for the next 15 months. There are also a few friendly barbs, but that can be accounted to the generally jovial spirit of the man Colm Imbert.
For those who would have missed the event, his engaging text follows.
ADDRESS BY THE HON. COLM IMBERT, MP
MINISTER OF WORKS AND TRANSPORT
AT THE
LAUNCH CEREMONY
FOR
The Restoration of the Queen’s Royal College
Historic Main Block
Wednesday January 10, 2007
The Honourable Minister of Education – Sen. Hazel Manning
Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Works and Transport, Mrs. Arlene McComie
Deputy Permanent Secretaries
Principal of QRC ……………… Mr William Carter
Director of Construction……… Mr Zanim Ali
Project Architect………………. Mr Bernard Mackay
Members of the QRC Foundation and Local School Board
Members of the QRC Old Boys’ Association
Students and Staff
Representatives of the Contractor, Kee-Chanona
Engineers and Staff of the Ministry of Works and Transport
Other Distinguished Guests
Members of the Clergy
Members of the Media
It gives me great pleasure to be here on the grounds of this world renowned institution of education to formally launch the restoration of what is said to be the most photographed building in Trinidad and Tobago, i.e. the Main Block of Queen’s Royal College.
As some of you may be aware, the Ministry of Works is intrinsically linked with the history of the College as the design for this beautiful building was done by the Chief Draughtsman of what was then the Public Works Department, Mr Daniel Hahn, himself a past student of the College. And for over a hundred years this building has not only been an icon of architecture in Trinidad and Tobago, but a catalyst in the shaping of our national identity with Heads of State, Prime Ministers, Nobel Prize winners, professional men of every conceivable category and discipline, cultural and sporting icons and other shapers and moulders of our society.
As those of you who are associated with QRC will know, the College had its genesis in the relocation of the Government Farm from St. Clair in 1899 which opened up the St. Clair lands for other uses, and the decision of the then acting Governor, Sir Courtney Knollys, to reserve this area in Queens’ Park West for the construction of the College. The Foundation stone was subsequently laid in November 1902 by Sir Courtney and the building was opened 16 months later in March 1904 by Sir Alfred Maloney.
The structure was designed in a German Renaissance style, which is thought to have resulted from Mr. Hahn’s experiences in his education in Berlin, with tropical architectural features in the interior and on the corridors. It is constructed of concrete with facings of blue limestone and the concrete is coloured with tint to contrast with the blue. It originally comprised six classrooms for 30 boys each and cost the princely sum of £15,000 in 1904. Originally, the building did not include a residence for teachers and the various headmasters first occupied a house at Hayes Street. Eventually in the 1940’s, when the house at Hayes Street was handed over to the Education Department, now the Ministry of Education, the residence known as Farm House on St. Clair Avenue was used by the headmasters. In 1913, the King Edward VII Memorial Clock was presented by William Gordon and installed in the tower of the college, under the supervision of the original designer of the building, D.H. Hahn. In 1929 the Geddes Grant Pavilion was completed and in 1939 the Science Block was erected. In 1940 the North Block was completed.
I am told that the academic origin of the College had its roots in the Stuart Grammar School of Port-of-Spain, a well-known boy’s school of the 19th century era, and in 1859, the Government asked Mr. Stuart to become involved in a new school, the Queen’s Collegiate College. This new school was established at the Corner of Oxford and Cumberland Street, now Abercromby Street, facing Lord Harris Square, where it remained for many years. In 1870, the name of the school was changed to Queen’s Royal College, and it was relocated to the Princes’ Building until the year 1904, when the present building was officially opened at this location.
The design brief given to the architects is for a full restoration of the building to its original condition while catering to the demands of the modern education system. In this context, I wish to assure the members of the National Trust, which has the responsibility for safeguarding our national heritage, that the project architects have been mandated to faithfully follow established procedures for historical restoration and to consult with the Trust to ensure that this heritage property is restored in accordance with its requirements.
Specifically, the design brief speaks of:
- Improving the Administrative facilities with modern services
- Restoring the original splendour of the Assembly Hall, including the plaster ceilings, staircase and stained glass windows
- Removing insensitive and inappropriate previous alterations
- Providing disabled access
Through this project, we intend to restore the reality and utility of the structure in keeping with its iconic status in the fields of both academics and architecture.
It is important to note that this is essentially a restoration project with all due care taken to conserve existing original building elements and to carefully match original materials.
As no detailed drawings of the existing building exist, the restoration process began with a full measurement survey. This was followed by a dilapidation survey in which the condition of the building was recorded after which samples were taken for analysis of the composition of the original materials to provide a match.
These surveys and the demands of the modern education system necessitated a Scope of Works that includes restoration of the:
- Structure
- Roof
- Iron Work
- Timber Ceilings, Cornices, Skirting, Doors and Windows
- Plaster Work in the Assembly Hall
- Decorative scheme to emphasise the architectural design
- Clock
In adapting the building to the demands of the 21st century, the Scope of Works also includes improvements to the:
- Roof
- Administrative Facilities
- Assembly Hall
- Toilet and Plumbing Facilities
A major aspect of the Scope of Works is the provision of disabled access to the building and its facilities, and the provision of such access will include a wheelchair ramp and an elevator between floors. You should note that these significant additions to the building will be done in a manner that minimizes the impact on the existing structure.
(The Project Architect has elaborated on other details of the Scope of Works)
As you may also aware, this project has had several stops and starts along the way, including a previous unsuccessful tender process, but I am happy to report that following the most recent pre-qualification and tendering process, Kee-Chanona Ltd was awarded the restoration contract on November 30, 2006, in the sum of $30 million, VAT exclusive.
The project is scheduled to take 15 months to complete, beginning on next Monday, January 15, 2007, with a completion date of April 14, 2008. A six-week fitting out and equipping period will follow, with the school regaining full possession of the building on June 1, 2008.
Quite naturally, there will be some inconvenience while the restoration work is taking place, and I wish to thank the Mr. Carter, his staff and the student body for making the necessary adjustments quietly and without any fuss, since for the duration of the restoration, the administrative staff and approximately 200 students will be housed in temporary structures.
I also wish to congratulate the QRC Foundation, the Local School Board and Old Boys Association, who are all represented here today. The role that these organizations have played in making this project a reality is significant (I have lost track of the number of times that Ainsley Mark has called me on the project), and a shining example of self sufficiency with the development of two major events on the national social calendar, Outta de Blue and the T&T International Steelband Jazz Festival, all in an effort to assist with the restoration.
This dedication to their alma mater is something that distinguishes Royalians. Your Principal, Mr Carter, who like myself is an alumnus of another world-renowned College with an equally brilliant history, (I won’t say which college is better for fear of being lynched, but I will say that it has required the efforts of two CIC Old Boys to finally ensure the restoration of QRC), sums it up when he says “the way the students use the school, they become one with it; it is difficult to separate the two.”
Looking forward to completion, along with the obvious benefits of the restoration, a maintenance manual will be created to identify ongoing maintenance requirements, allow for annual maintenance budgets to be established and enable forward programming of expenditure. Another direct result of this project, more in keeping with the College’s role of education and training, is the development of a training programme that will improve local trade skills for the conservation of historic buildings, develop an understanding of cultural heritage and establish a new benchmark for conservation work.
I wish to congratulate everyone, including the staff of the Ministry, specifically the Construction Division, the Historical Restoration Unit and the Architects’ Branch; the contractors Kee-Chanona Ltd., as well as the consultants for the sensitivity and empathy with which this project is being undertaken. We are restoring not just a building, but an icon, of which all parties can be justifiably proud.
Before I close, there is one particular issue that I wish the Consultants and the Contractor to focus on, as well as the Construction Division of the Ministry of Works and Transport. Far too often in recent times, building projects have come in over budget and behind time. In virtually all cases the responsibility for this unacceptable situation is shared by consultants who do not supervise projects properly and contractors who do not give the timely and efficient completion of projects the priority that it deserves. At this particular time in our country’s history, this situation has been exacerbated by the demands of our booming economy where resources, both technical and physical, are in very short supply, and most construction firms are stretched to their full capacity.
In these circumstances, many important projects, such as this one, start off very well, with all concerned pledging their best efforts, and best wishes for success, and then, for one reason or another, the projects go astray.
I do not wish this project to become a victim of circumstances, and in this regard, the Ministry of Works and Transport will be closely monitoring this project, and the performance of both the consultants and the contractor, in order to ensure that the project’s primary objectives are met. We expect therefore that restoration of Queen’s Royal College will be done to the highest professional standards, in keeping with the historical and architectural requirements of the National Trust, and that the fully restored College building will be returned to the staff and students on schedule in June 2008. To achieve these objectives, the Ministry will take appropriate affirmative action, and also provide all necessary support, as and when required. I ask, therefore, that all concerned commit themselves to making this project an exceptional project, and that it is completed on time and within budget.
I thank you
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