DM Rutherford Family Conservatory
The DM Rutherford Family Conservatory replicates a header house originally built in 1930 as part of the Ontario Agricultural College and consists of a pagoda-like glass greenhouse. This header house served as the entrance into a complex of working greenhouses that supported teaching and learning in the study of floriculture.
The working greenhouses were decommissioned and demolished in the late 1980s to early 1990s and the building gradually shifted from educational and research use to an ornamental structure for public enjoyment. Advancements in greenhouse technology also meant that plantings of significance were primarily cared for and housed in U of G’s other greenhouses.
The Conservatory has required significant repairs over the years, first in the 1960’s and then in 1998 when most of the wood and glass were replaced. The latter repairs were completed thanks in large part to the generosity of U of G alum, Donald M. Rutherford, and the Conservatory was named in his honour.
Over time, the Conservatory’s design and materials have proven ill-suited for the Canadian climate, which has resulted in its relatively short lifecycle of 25 to 30 years. The temperature differences between the inside and outside of the building and the Conservatory’s high-humidity environment repeatedly causes significant, unavoidable wood rot, which is what led to restoration in 1998 and is seen again today.
The Conservatory has been closed to the public since November 2023 as the wood rot has considerably weakened the structure.
Financial Realities
The University has commissioned numerous independent structural engineering reports to understand the possibilities for the Conservatory. These reports have all found the Conservatory is currently unsafe and that the restoration or replication work required would cost over $5 million with approximately $200,000 to $250,000 in annualized maintenance.
U of G is dedicated to preserving its rich history and heritage buildings that support our academic and research mission. We strive to ensure the essence of our heritage thrives hand-in-hand with our pursuit of academic and research excellence. However, the Conservatory stopped serving its main function for educational or research purposes over 15 years ago. As the University is in a multi-year operational deficit and needs to strategically transform to support its core mission, it cannot dedicate the resources required to keep the Conservatory as it stands today.
Future Plans
U of G is dedicated to preserving the spirit of the Conservatory by maintaining a public space that both highlights the University’s rich contributions to horticulture and remains accessible to the community.
The University is proposing to create a commemorative garden in the Conservatory’s current location that will tell the story of U of G’s agricultural beginnings and the meaningful student memories that were made on the site.
Guelph City Council has indicated their alignment with U of G’s plans and passed a motion of their intention to designate the salvageable steel of the building as a heritage attribute. U of G has put forward a plan to conserve the salvageable steel during deconstruction, which will take place under the supervision of an engineer qualified under the Canadian Association of Heritage Professionals.
In early 2025, U of G plans to launch a design competition for Landscape Architecture students to help create the commemorative garden. Participating students will be required to include plans for repurposing some of the salvageable steel and create designs that respect and honour the Conservatory’s legacy.
More information will be shared here as it becomes available.
FAQ
The Conservatory is primarily made out of steel, cypress wood and glass. The wooden elements of the Conservatory have significant and widespread rot, due to consistently high humidity levels combined with significant interior and exterior temperature differences. This has significantly weakened the structure and made it unsafe for public access.
The University has completed routine maintenance on the Conservatory, including visual inspections, painting and other standard caretaking duties. However, the structural issues the Conservatory is currently facing cannot be prevented or identified through routine visual inspection and maintenance until they’re too far advanced.
The wooden elements of the Conservatory are subject to persistent heat and humidity of the tropical climate within its interior coupled with extreme temperature differences between the inside and outside of the building. This environment has slowly caused the cypress wood to rot from the inside out, which can't be seen without first dismantling significant portions of the Conservatory to see inside the wood, glass and steel interfaces.
This would not be part of routine building maintenance and would typically only be done when there’s visually an indication of possible issues. In addition, the connections with the steel and glass elements limit access to all surfaces of the wood without significant deconstruction. The building has reached the end of its standard life cycle of 25 to 30 years.
On November 13, 2024, Guelph City Council passed a motion of their intention to designate the salvageable steel of the building as a heritage attribute. As a result, the University has put forward a plan to conserve the salvageable steel during deconstruction and provided the City with a plan that outlines the next steps for advancing the commemorative garden.
The Conservatory’s doors have been locked and access to the public has been restricted since November 2023. However, based on the latest advice from independent engineering and architecture firms, there is an urgent need to dismantle parts of the Conservatory before winter weather sets in. Therefore, the University will be moving forward to methodically deconstruct the building as soon as possible.
In 1998, a group of alumni raised approximately $440,000 for the restoration and routine maintenance of the Conservatory. This included a $250,000 donation from Donald M. Rutherford, whom the Conservatory was named after. These funds are endowed and the University is restricted in the amount it can withdraw per year as well as how the funds are used.
Today, it is highly unlikely the University would be able to fundraise the amount required to replicate the Conservatory nor can it rightly accept this amount of funding for an initiative that is not central to its academic and research mission.