Getty grant will help restore iconic house

As with most buildings, a strong foundation is helping to keep the Strutt House strong.

The philanthropic Getty Foundation has stepped in to assist financially in the restoration of the Strutt House, a historic building in Gatineau that is to be used in the National Capital Commission’s plans for Canada’s 150th anniversary.

The Strutt Foundation, a group working on the restoration of the house as one of its projects, has been involved in efforts to have the home maintained for seven years.

The effort to restore and preserve the home of deceased Canadian architect James Strutt has been ongoing since Strutt’s daughter and Strutt Foundation member Lesley sold the house to the NCC in 2008. The Strutt Foundation received a $50,000 grant from the Getty Foundation to help in their endeavours.

“We were really excited,” said Titania Truesdale, managing director of the Strutt Foundation.

“We were thrilled. A lot of work goes into coming up with the scenarios for these grant applications, so to have one come through that was as positive and exactly what we’d asked for was beyond our hopes.”

The grant will allow the Strutt Foundation a chance to develop a more comprehensive conservation plan, consulting with expert engineers, planners and architects to ensure the long-term viability of the building.

“That will include some of the initial testing, up front,” said Truesdale, adding that a lot of the work is being done in conjunction with Carleton University and Algonquin College interns and volunteers.

“We’ll have to do some materials testing, look at where things should be refurbished and where they should be replaced.”

Iconic in the architectural community, the home was built on the Eardley Escarpment at 1220 Chemin de la Montagne about 60 years ago and has since hosted famous people including then-justice minister Pierre Elliott Trudeau and U.S. architect Buckminster Fuller.

Designed with simplicity and minimalism in mind, the house’s architectural novelty includes a solid roof that is only five centimetres thick.

The NCC plans to open Strutt House to the public in 2017, in time for the country’s 150th anniversary celebrations, to be used as a public pavilion.

The Getty Foundation is an offshoot of the J. Paul Getty Trust, an art institution located in Los Angeles, Calif.