Day 3 - Bus Tour

On the final day of the symposium we had the opportunity to get on a bus and tour around Regina and area looking at some of the buildings that Clifford Wiens designed throughout his career. The best part of this tour was that we were accompanied by Mr. Wiens and had a chance to hear him talk about the thoughts that went through his head while designing. He pointed out some features he designed into his buildings that I'm sure would have been missed by almost anyone else who did not have the benefit of the architect himself giving the tour. One of the highlights for me were the stories that Clifford had about each and every building we visited, and his sense of humor. The buildings we visited on this tour included the University of Regina Heating and Cooling plant, the Silton Chapel/Church, the John Nugent studio in Lumsden, and the Grace Presbyterian Church in Regina.

We first stopped at the Heating and Cooling plant at the UofR -- a building I have driven by a number of times but never really stopped to look at it closely. The thing I liked the most was that Clifford designed the one wall so that it can be taken apart fairly easily and quickly to make room for a new boiler to go into the plant. With this feature as part of the original design it means that once you put the wall back together, you can't even tell it had been taken apart. Those sort of ideas are one of Mr. Wiens best attributes. As a designer he is able to look far ahead to the future and anticipate what sort of challenges a building might face, such as needing a new boiler, and then he incorporates features into the design to help overcome those challenges.

The second place we stopped was the John Nugent studio in Lumsden. At this site we were able to tour around and were also the audience for a plaque unveiling by the minister of Culture Youth and Recreation, Warren McCall. For those who don't know, the Nugent Studio is the first modernist building to be designated a Provincial Heritage Property in Saskatchewan. To learn more about it you can go to www.cyr.gov.sk.ca. The Nugent Studio is very interesting for the unique shape of the dome as well it's construction method. This building was built by John Nugent and many of his friends in the art and design community, including Clifford, who also designed it. It was built for very little money and the thing I found most interesting is that the concrete was put on by the dome by hand using no forms. If you look closely you can see what appear to be rings or layers on the dome. According to Clifford those rings are as far as he and the other workers could reach in one weekend. It was these kinds of stories that filled up the whole tour and made it so interesting.

Our next stop was the Silton Chapel/Church. This is a very unique structure as it has no walls, and the roof is supported but a series of beams and 4 concrete pilings. It is really an incredible structure and anyone who has a chance should stop and see it. The thing that stuck out for me were the chains that were used as part of the rain gutters. Instead of using a traditional downspout, Mr. Wiens hung a set of chains down from the gutters so the water would run down these chains. One things I would really like to experience is being inside this structure during a heavy rain -- I think it would be incredible.

The last place we stopped was the Grace Presbyterian Church in Regina. This is another building that shows Clifford's attention to detail, such as how he designed the walls to slant out near the pews so even though you are up against the wall you still have elbow and head room and don't feel crowded. If you ever have a chance stop by and see what I am talking about it will probably become clearer.

During the bus tour we also were given quick notes as we drove past other Clifford Weins buildings that we did not have time to stop at. These comments were provided both by Mr. Wiens himself and also by Trevor Boddy, the curator of the Telling Details exhibition. I was very impressed with how Mr. Boddy explained the buildings, and some of their history. I was also very impressed all weekend with his immense knowledge of everything Clifford and everything Architecture. He gave a very nice tour on the bus and all weekend during the symposium he was very personable and always fun to talk to or listen to. I would like to take this opportunity to thank him for creating this wonderful exhibition and helping introduce me to the work of Clifford Weins. I also want to thank every body at the MacKenzie and Dunlop for putting on this symposium and allowing me to write this blog.

Written by Scott Dean.