City Hall restoration works to begin this week
Guyana
Work to restore Georgetown’s City Hall is scheduled to begin tomorrow and Trinidadian contractor Fides Ltd has said Guyanese will make up a large part of its labour force.
In response to questions posed by this newspaper, the company said with the exception of specialist restoration engineers, who possess the technical knowledge to execute the works, the support staff will be Guyanese.
“We envisage that the Guyanese workers will benefit from an exchange of knowledge and technology from our advanced restoration specialists. They can learn the skills and techniques, which they in turn can use in future restoration projects,” the company explained.
Fides said one of its objectives is to train Guyanese workers to work collaboratively with their restoration team. This, it said, will encourage entrepreneurship “in this unique niche in the construction sector.”
The firm’s sister office in Guyana won the $780 million contract to rehabilitate the dilapidated City Hall. According to its website, the company, which has over 12 years of experience in restoration of colonial architecture, boasts experience in restoring buildings to their architectural glory.
Touching on works to be done to the City Hall building, it said it will be using the “adaptive reuse” technique, which is the process of retrofitting old buildings for new uses. The technique, it was explained allows structures to retain their historic integrity while providing for occupants with modern facilities.
“We will begin with the preliminary stage of the project, which consists of mobilisation of the site office and equipment onto the site, placing hoarding around the perimeter of the compound, installation of safety signage and conducting a comprehensive technical assessment of the building,” the company explained.
In the second stage, Fides said it will commence a structural retrofit of the roof and structural columns and beams of building. This process entails replacing decayed timber elements with new timber to match what was originally designed. The engineers will then engage in selective demolition, where they will remove any old material, such as ceilings or wall partitions, which are no longer required.
The external façade will be repaired along the northern and western walls, the company further explained, while noting that there will be works on the roof and the tower of the build simultaneously.
On completion of the northern and western walls, restoration will commence on the southern and eastern façade.
“Additionally while work is occurring on the external part of the building, we will be installing the new ceilings, walls and floors and also installing electrical, plumbing and air conditioning elements inside the building,” the company said.
The final phase entails the external works and landscaping and the installation of decorative elements, such as cast iron railings and any existing medallions that the company would have restored or replicated.
An 18-month timeline has been established for the completion of the project.
The project team will be led by the company’s Structural Engineer Yeimer Suarez. According to Fides, he has worked on numerous Grade One restorations in Cuba and has been the head of all of its restoration projects in Trinidad, which include the restoration of Stollmeyer’s Castle.
“Fides has a full project team which is lending its support for this project. We will utilize our collective strength to bring City Hall back to its former glory,” the company added.
Last week, in an advertisement in Kaieteur News, Fides Guyana Inc announced a number of vacancies, including that of an art restoration specialist, and a civil engineer.
Prepared
Additionally, the company said that it has prepared itself to address challenges should any arise. The work plan, it explained, was crafted out of les-sons learned from previous restoration projects. With this in place, they are hoping to eliminate and minimise any delays during the City Hall restoration.