Re: “Undersea Gardens closing after 50 years in Victoria area,” Oct. 17.
As the architect for the Undersea Gardens in its present form, I was sad to read that it was closing.
It was an unusual project. The city refused jurisdiction because it was a “vessel” and the maritime authorities refused jurisdiction because it was a “building,” so we had to use our own judgment regarding code requirements for such things as safe exits.
We added a considerable amount of superstructure and, at 3 a.m. one morning during the design stage, I began to worry about the possibility that it might compromise the vessel’s stability. I spent the next day calculating exactly how much weight we were adding and found, to my relief, that it would not be a significant factor.
I was reminded, at the time, of Alexander Pope’s epitaph for an architect: “Lay heavy on the earth for he laid many a heavy load on thee.”
Alan Lester
North Saanich
