Parliament Hill Rehabilitation Project

[Acajack]

Originally Posted by J.OT13

So the library aspect is moving to Adisoke, and the office workers (2 to 3 days a week) will be crammed in some other tower I guess?

I think most of their administrative staff already works in Gatineau, and a lot of the people employed at Wellington do front-line service so they'll move to Adisoke.

With the partial work-from-home in the federal public service, it's probably not that big a deal to move the remaining pieces of the puzzle.

[rocketphish]

Renovation of Parliament’s Centre Block on schedule, report says

Ian Bailey, The Globe and Mail
Published 44 minutes ago | Updated 27 minutes ago

An unprecedented renovation of Parliament’s Centre Block is on schedule and expected to allow for the building to reopen to MPs, staff and the public in 2031 or 2032, according to a project update.

Of the project’s forecast cost of between $4.5-billion and $5-billion, $896-million has been spent so far, says the June 28 update from the Public Services and Procurement Canada on work involving the main building on Parliament Hill.

The update also says the project’s target completion date is between 2030 and 2031, with Centre Block scheduled to open a year later.

“It’s the largest and most complex heritage rehabilitation ever seen in Canada,” the update says.

Centre Block is among seven buildings on Parliament Hill. Others include West Block, a complex opened in 1865, that has housed the House of Commons chamber where MPs have gathered for such routines as Question Period and debates since 2019.

The renovation project has also meant that key Canada Day celebrations in Ottawa have been moved from the lawn in front of Centre Block to an area of LeBreton Flats, an area west of the downtown core.

Centre Block opened in 1920, four years after the original structure was destroyed in a fire.

The renovation effort has a number of goals. They include replacing the building’s mechanical systems, restoring its frescos, stained glass and stonework among other features, making the building more accessible, restoring the Peace Tower, bolstering the ability of the complex to withstand an earthquake and building a new underground centre to welcome and process visitors.

The update says work on the welcome centre and Centre Block exterior are on track, with work on basement support posts for the Centre Block about 63 per cent complete.

After removing about 44,000 truckloads of rock to dig a 23-metre-deep hole in front of Centre Block, the report says that work will begin this fall on filling the space with the new welcome centre complex.

https://www.theglobeandmail.com/poli...with-expected/

[urbanforest]

It will be interesting to see the giant hole begin to disappear again. I wonder how long it will be until it’s fully filled in again. It’d be nice to have some of the lawn back sooner than 2030.

[ponyboycurtis]

44k truckloads. That's nuts haha.

We'll. I can't wait for Canada Day celebrations to come back. Lebreton flats is a cattle pen. I'm so tired of seeing fences everywhere I go.

Why is the staircase from York street to Majors Hill Park fenced off and I have never seen a soul doing any work on it?

Fences, Fences , Fences. Ottawa, Canada. Fences ladies and gents. Fences.

[Uhuniau]

Originally Posted by ponyboycurtis

44k truckloads. That's nuts haha.

We'll. I can't wait for Canada Day celebrations to come back. Lebreton flats is a cattle pen. I'm so tired of seeing fences everywhere I go.

I hate to tell you about the state of the world and its connection to the fences. I don't think we'll see an end to the Great Wall of Canada Day any time soon, not even if the main show moves back to the Hill lawn. The location of the Great Wall might shift, but a wall, and a great one, it will continue to be.

[rocketphish]

Hill Cam just now:



https://www.canada.ca/en/public-serv...ct/camera.html

[DTcrawler]

Originally Posted by Uhuniau

I hate to tell you about the state of the world and its connection to the fences. I don't think we'll see an end to the Great Wall of Canada Day any time soon, not even if the main show moves back to the Hill lawn. The location of the Great Wall might shift, but a wall, and a great one, it will continue to be.

At least when the celebrations move back to the Hill, some Heritage Canada official will deem that Parliament, Lyon and Rideau stations are no longer safe to use because all the travellers risk depleting the underground supply of oxygen in the stations… and everyone will be forced to walk to Pimisi.

[urbanforest]

More detail on what rocketphish posted about earlier this month, from the PSPC quarterly project report:

New tower cranes on Parliament Hill
This fall we look forward to starting the next phase of the Parliament Welcome Centre. After removing about 44,000 truckloads of rock to dig the 23-metre-deep hole in front of Centre Block, we will be ready to fill it back with the new underground structure.

Big changes will be visible starting this fall as we install new tower cranes in the construction site to help move construction materials and equipment. These tower cranes are between 50 and 70 metres tall, but will look much shorter as their bases will be at the bottom of the excavation hole. Smaller concrete placing boom towers will also be installed on-site to assist with the pouring of low-carbon concrete.

The image below shows the 3 cranes that will be in front of Centre Block between fall 2024 and winter 2027.

The report also says that scaffolding on the south façade will begin in spring 2025. Will be quite the sight to see.

[KnoxfordGuy]

Where did all the rock go? That's a crazy amount!

[J.OT13]

Originally Posted by KnoxfordGuy

Where did all the rock go? That's a crazy amount!

I wonder the same. Not just with Parliament, but the O-Train tunnel projects along with the excavations of every other private and public buildings that have gone up over the last 100 years.

[OTownandDown]

I've seen a video of excavation directly beneath the building, and connecting to the giant hole out front. Does anybody know when that might be getting underway? The support for the building above must be nuts.

Here's a quick google search of a photo from the Hill Times. I can't imagine what this will look like in person....

[YOWetal]

Originally Posted by OTownandDown

I've seen a video of excavation directly beneath the building, and connecting to the giant hole out front. Does anybody know when that might be getting underway? The support for the building above must be nuts.

Here's a quick google search of a photo from the Hill Times. I can't imagine what this will look like in person....

The expense of this project is just mind boggling. We are criticizing a program giving dental work to everyone in the country for several years for the cost of this. While an important building and part of our history, spending this kind of money does not seem justified given where this building sits in world importance and really in the psyche of Canadians. The White house or Kremlin it is not.

[J.OT13]

Originally Posted by YOWetal

The expense of this project is just mind boggling. We are criticizing a program giving dental work to everyone in the country for several years for the cost of this. While an important building and part of our history, spending this kind of money does not seem justified given where this building sits in world importance and really in the psyche of Canadians. The White house or Kremlin it is not.

The White House may be better known, but this is a far better building anyway you look at it. Putting in significant investment in preserving the symbol of our democracy, the heritage structure that was witness to every major decision by the Canadian Government since the 1920s. Worth every penny.

As we debate what to do with the Alexandra Bridge, a historic local landmark, I couldn't even imagine the folly of tearing down a beloved National Landmark such as Centre Block and replacing it with a modern structure that would no doubt be very divisive. Add to that the cost of full demolition and rebuilding, the environmental costs as well (preserving an existing structure will always be the better option from that perspective).

[DTcrawler]

Originally Posted by YOWetal

The expense of this project is just mind boggling. We are criticizing a program giving dental work to everyone in the country for several years for the cost of this. While an important building and part of our history, spending this kind of money does not seem justified given where this building sits in world importance and really in the psyche of Canadians. The White house or Kremlin it is not.

This kind of thinking is exactly how you erode national identity. When most people thinking of Canada it's the CN Tower, Niagara Falls, the Rockies, and Parliament Hill (specifically the Centre Block). The fact that you'll see at least a couple dozen people taking photos in front of it at midnight on a Wednesday evening in February is a testament to that.

[harls]

Just ask the people of Winnipeg if they'd like their old city hall back today.

[Uhuniau]

Originally Posted by J.OT13

I wonder the same. Not just with Parliament, but the O-Train tunnel projects along with the excavations of every other private and public buildings that have gone up over the last 100 years.

A large chunk of the river shoreline west of downtown to Lazy Bay is historical fill, either from excavation, demolition, or straight up garbage. Not sure where more modern spoil ended up, though I think at least some of the LRT tunnel spoil may have been redeployed elsewhere within the project.

[Uhuniau]

Originally Posted by J.OT13

The White House may be better known, but this is a far better building anyway you look at it.

And the White House is pretty well entirely pastiche; let alone what happened during the War of 1812, the place was gutted to the studs and then some, and rebuilt inside out, in recent history. Centre Block is (was) more historic from a purely physical existence standpoint than the White House.

[YOWetal]

Originally Posted by DTcrawler

This kind of thinking is exactly how you erode national identity. When most people thinking of Canada it's the CN Tower, Niagara Falls, the Rockies, and Parliament Hill (specifically the Centre Block). The fact that you'll see at least a couple dozen people taking photos in front of it at midnight on a Wednesday evening in February is a testament to that.

Who's talking about demolishing it. We don't need to pull off each brick as if it is the Roman Coliseum, dig 10 stories down etc. We can do like most of the rest of the world and fix it to an acceptable appearance and tax on modern fire and security features as needed. We are not a country filled with pristine public and private spaces so this money might be better spent I don't know having a decent sidewalk or transport system to get people to Parliament as well as in their own communities.

[DTcrawler]

Originally Posted by YOWetal

Who's talking about demolishing it. We don't need to pull off each brick as if it is the Roman Coliseum, dig 10 stories down etc. We can do like most of the rest of the world and fix it to an acceptable appearance and tax on modern fire and security features as needed. We are not a country filled with pristine public and private spaces so this money might be better spent I don't know having a decent sidewalk or transport system to get people to Parliament as well as in their own communities.

That'd simply be kicking the can down the road. From what I understand many of the systems being overhauled are from the original construction 100+ years ago. I know you didn't suggest demolishing it but look at the state of 24 Sussex as an example of what happens when administration after administration turn a blind eye and let things deteriorate.

The timing is unfortunate as far as the current economic climate and political discourse around public spending while families are struggling, but I'd imagine these plans were drafted well before any of this came to light.

[OTownandDown]

As I understand it, all that is left of centre block includes... the perimeter stone walls, copper roofs, and an old structural frame inside. The rest of the tile floors, wood doors, windows and decorative ceilings have been removed and put into storage. Not too much left at this point (for those debating the demo vs. restore). Its a pretty deep restoration, considering there isn't much of the original interior finishes left on the inside... Sure it'll be put back together, but what would have been the incremental cost to remove everything to storage including the exterior stone veneer walls, demolish the old structural frame, build the new basement, build a new above-ground structural frame to modern code, tack the stone back on the outside and put the finishes back in the hallways and offices?