The Bluedrop Building

Built 1896. Reborn 2008.

The Bluedrop Building located at 18 Prescott Street was recognized for preservation of architectural heritage and excellence in design with a Southcott Award in 2008.  The building began life as a timber frame warehouse, just a few years after the great fire of 1892.  Originally built to house a printing press, it was structurally over engineered to support very heavy equipment.  Over its life, the building housed multiple businesses, including several decades as a meat packing plant.  At the time of the Bluedrop purchase, it was covered in 4” thick cork insulation and had large wooden freezer doors and meat hooks hanging from the ceiling.

For over a decade, the building was listed “For Sale”.  It was in a state of disrepair.  It was finally purchased by Emad Rizkalla, President and CEO of Bluedrop Performance Learning. Rizkalla wanted something in the heart of historic downtown St. John’s to house the global headquarters for Bluedrop.

Rizkalla was told that the building was beyond repair and needed to be immediately demolished.  Once inside, despite the fire and water damage, debris and a collapsed sidewall, he was determined to save the building and transform it.  Upon seeing the view from the old roof he decided to do what he could to reinforce the building to support another floor.

Rizkalla recruited Barcelona based architect Javier Gomez to provide a concept that could save the old warehouse.  The goal was to highlight the history of the building through the juxtaposition of some old and modern elements.  It would blend in and stand out at the same time.  This was no small task. 

A dying birch tree from an old church would find new life as the centre piece building.  The main stairwell featured stairs that were moulded into shape using thin sheets of stainless steel so that they would appear to float around the tree. A catwalk made from original timber from the building was built to provide access to the fourth floor offices.  The old garage doors used for the meat packing plant were replaced by a modern stainless steel garage door to provide indoor parking.

The original floor in the multimedia area was saved and restored.  Environmentally friendly bamboo flooring was installed throughout the rest of the building.  Old equipment was salvaged, repurposed and put on display to remind visitors of the building’s rich past. 

The main doorway, which was originally used as the main access to the warehouse, is now used as a giant frame for the lobby.  As a final touch, following the addition of a fourth floor, a spectacular rooftop deck with perhaps Canada’s only year round outdoor palm trees (east of Vancouver) was completed in 2009.