The Cereal Barn - Integrated Project Dossier (2019)

The Cereal Barn was designed by the Dominion Chief architect of the time, Edgar Lewis. It remains as one of the classic stick style barns on the Experimental Farm in Ottawa. The original Cereal Barn was built in 1911 however, it is not the one that stands today. This barn suffered severe fire damage in 1915 and was rebuilt and occupied by March of the following year. The new building was constructed by adapting the original floor plan and added an addition 6 metres to provide more space for workshops. This barn’s low dormers and broken gable roof create a picturesque quality which is rather unusual in barn architecture. It is clad in a combination of board and batten with side wall shingling modelled after the original building. The Federal Heritage building has had many functions involving the Cereal Division including being the primary processing workshop and laboratory for experimenting grain. The research involved in the development of Marquis wheat and rust-resistant varieties in the barn are some of the biggest accomplishments made at the Experimental Farm. In 1951, five indoor growth facilities were incorporated into the building to provide an artificial environment for cereal growth and monitoring. These growth facilities were in use even after the building was closed in the mid 1970’s. Additionally, the building was used as storage for all types of grain during the scientific research period up until 1970. In 1983, the Barn was turned into a Museum by the Canada Agriculture and Food Museum, thus changing the use of the barn. Today the ground floor is used for events such as weddings, community gatherings and more. The basement is currently used as a storage space and upper floors remain unused. This is the Integrated Project Dossier compiled by a group of undergraduate students of the Architectural Conservation and Sustainability Program (Engineers and architects) at Carleton University for the CIVE3207 (ARCN4100) Historic Site Recording and Assessment course in 2019.