Bata Library in national vote
Funding to replace Bata Library trellises sought in online vote in National Trust’s This Place Matters competition
The trellises adorning Bata Library at Trent University may be replaced soon – and with any luck, the project could be funded by prize money.
The Bata Library is one of 25 heritage buildings nationwide vying for money from the National Trust for Canada, an organization that aims to save historic places.
The competition is called This Place Matters and it offers money to help spruce up historic buildings.
The Bata Library, which is 50 years old, is about to undergo an $18-million renovation.
The renovation is expected to make the library less of a repository for books and more of a place for digital learning. At the same time, the building’s heritage features are being restored.
Among those features are the trellises that adorn much of the library’s exterior.
The wooden trellises are the originals that master architect Ron Thom designed and put in place half a century ago.
“The wood is essentially rotted,” said Lee Hays, the director of alumni affairs for the university and the coordinator for the competition at Trent.
The trellises need to be replaced at a cost of $250,000, Hays said.
It’s part of the $18-million renovation plan – except the money for this particular aspect of the renovation isn’t in the bank, yet.
Most of the $18-million has been raised: it’s coming from the federal government, the provincial government and the university itself.
But that doesn’t cover it all: the university must also fundraise $2 million.
Hays said they’ve already collected $1.1 million; they’re working on the last $900,000, which includes $250,000 for the trellis replacement.
The trellises don’t just hold up the ivy: they also overhang the windows in intricate patterns.
“Without these trellises, the building would kind of look flat,” Hays said.
Enter the National Trust of Canada, the same organization that recently included two Peterborough bars – the Pig’s Ear and the Black Horse - on a Top 10 list of historic buildings in Canada in danger of demolition.
The Trust has included the Bata Library as one of the 25 buildings from across Canada that deserve money.
Nearby the Presqu’ile Point Lighthouse Preservation Society in Brighton was also chosen as a participant in the contest for its lighthouse preservation work.
Their online contest works like this: People visit the website of the National Trust of Canada, and seek out the project of their choice in two categories.
Every day until July 17, you can vote for the library to win.
Meanwhile, there’s also a crowdsourcing component: as you vote, you have the option of donating toward Bata’s goal of collecting $50,000. Every dollar collected from crowdsourcing counts as a vote.
The votes are counted up after the contest ends July 17. The top-voted buildings get prize money in addition to money they managed to crowdsource.
The total sum of prize money being handed out is $220,000. The largest single prize is $60,000, for the project that receives the most votes nationally (there are also smaller regional prizes).
Other buildings in the running include the First United Church in Truro, N.S.
NOTE: You can vote for the Bata Library project at https://thisplacematters.ca/.