PROJECT Senate of Canada Building, Ottawa, Ontario
ARCHITECTS DSA-KWC Architects in Joint Venture
TEXT Kristen Gagnon
PHOTOS Tom Arban, unless otherwise noted
When King George VI and Queen Elizabeth arrived in Ottawa for their historic 1939 visit, Their Majesties entered the city through the former Ottawa Union Station, before making their way to Parliament Hill. Eighty years later, the next monarch to visit Canada?s royal-hued Red Chamber will be received not on the Hill, but down the street in what was once Union Station?s bustling concourse hall.
Opened in 1912, the beaux-arts train station was, stylistically, a scaled-down sibling to New York City?s Penn Station. When Ottawa?s train tracks were relocated in the 1960s, it was saved by the heritage movement that followed in the wake of Penn Station?s demolition. From 1969 on, the building served as the Government Conference Centre. In the past decade, as plans were made for Canada?s main parliamentary building to close for extensive rehabilitation work, the Senate of Canada decided to revitalize this underused and deteriorating heritage site into its temporary home. A new east façade was added to the project, replacing a blank party wall between the former train station and a now-demolished hotel.
For the building to serve the needs of the Senate, Diamond Schmitt and KWC Architects? design needed to address the new program and balance the need for high security with the public functions of the building. It also needed ...