The Old Post Office

The Old Post Office revitalization and addition in Uptown Waterloo is a unique development with a contemporary addition to an iconic heritage building.

The project presented challenges as the designated historic post office building could not be changed significantly, but was also too small for most uses and did not meet modern building and accessibility requirements. The vacant lot next door provided an opportunity to create a modern standalone building that connected to the post office to allow for a vibrant street front with ground floor retail as well as two floors of office space above. The key was to ensure the new building did not overshadow the post office. This was achieved through creating a finely crafted building that is not overstated in complementary materials of glass and copper to mimic the copper roof on the original building. The buildings are not visually connected at first glance, but the L-shape of the new building creates a courtyard in the central core between the buildings to allow day lighting into the spaces and a glassed-in bridge connection at the second level. To allow for privacy from King Street for the offices, ‘shark gill’ like windows allow light into the perimeter spaces but provide street views.