On any list of iconic Edmonton buildings, the Muttart Conservatory would have to be near the top. Designed by late architect Peter Hemingway, the four pyramids have housed plant species from around the world in over 1,000 square metres of triangulated spaces since 1976. In addition to nine greenhouses, which were stocked full of plants that could be kept alive during the transition, the conservatory has hosted countless field trips, celebrations, weddings and wine nights. But it’s been almost 50 years and, even after a 2009 renovation, a top-to-bottom upgrade was due.
It really has been top to bottom — or in the case of the west-side Feature pyramid, below the bottom. “We had to remove all the bricks and peat moss, and then the workers from Seasonal Impact excavated six feet down. I climbed down a ladder and looked up, and I didn’t like that feeling because I’m used to it looking so nice.” Sarah Birmingham is the Muttart’s team lead, and if you can’t tell, she’s a plant person — one who has “the best job” working with plants all day, but clarifies that “I like people too!”
The people she’s worked with most since the Muttart closed in July 2019 have been from Graham Construction, who over a year and half worked at arguably the best construction site in town — at least in winter, when it was a balmy plus-35 degrees Celsius under the glass. “But in the summer, there was a lot of water consumption,” Birmingham says.
The Muttart’s non-mammalian members consume a lot of water too, and providing it more efficiently was a big part of the upgrade. The southern Temperate pyramid, which underwent an entire soil renewal, has a brand-new centre pond full of hungry koi. A new reverse-osmosis system will program the misting cycles to keep all the pyramids humid without leaving calcium deposit speckles on the plants and walls. And each pyramid now has new grates to capture water and run-off when the gardens change over, which in the Feature pyramid happens up to seven times per year.
The biggest changes might be behind the scenes. The separate gas and propane boilers have been replaced with a dual boiler system. A brand-new electrical room connects to a new transformer, all of which will more efficiently regulate four pyramids that are, given their uninsulated glassy designs, inherently inefficient.
The major front-end changes are the things you’ll see (or feel) better, or no longer see at all. Automatic glass doors now welcome you into the pyramids, which are filled with brand new lighting to showcase the main attractions at night, and the new ramp tiles leading into the enclosures are grippier for wheelchairs, baby carriages and brides. Gone are the clunky old heat registers, replaced with enclosed, radiant heat fans. “It really cleaned up the look of the pyramids,” Birmingham says, “because before it was a bunch of green pipes all on top of each other and then this huge old heater. And maybe I’m a little more judgmental about it, but they were in every picture people would take.”
The thing about the people who visit the Muttart is that there are basically three kinds: kids on field trips, wedding parties or once-in-a-while guests, and the regulars (other plant people), some of whom have been visiting for 30 years. They’ll notice the painted girders, new handrails, plants, paths and LED lighting, but if you haven’t visited since your cousin’s wedding, it’s going to look and feel more or less the same — lush, beautiful and warm — and that’s the point.
“We get lots of recommendations in our suggestion box saying ‘make it bigger,’ or ‘add another pyramid,’ because people want to see more plants from more places,” Birmingham says (technically, the wandering room is expanded). “It’s an iconic landmark with a lot of history. There have been some upgrades, but there were some Band-Aids also. So now it’s been upgraded to the 21st century, and it’s got the bones to continue on. By doing this big renovation, especially on the back of house, we don’t have to do more interventions for a really long time.”
This article appears in the June 2021 issue of Edify
