Parliamentary Precinct Redevelopment: Block 2 | Proposed

[rocketphish]

Originally Posted by bartlebooth

Probably one of the only times we'll see design input for a site in Ottawa from some of the most notable architecture practices in the world - https://www.canadianarchitect.com/bl...nday-april-11/

Looking forward to seeing what comes out of it.

Block 2 finalists unveil designs in live online presentation on Monday, April 11
David Chipperfield, Bjarke Ingels, Behnisch Architekten, and Renzo Piano are among the six finalists who will present their designs for the Parliament-facing site on Facebook Live.

By Elsa Lam, Canadian Architect
Apr 5, 2022



Few sites carry the significance of Block 2, the full city block directly opposite Canada’s Parliament buildings, just south of Parliament Hill. To the north, it faces the Centre Block and its Peace Tower. The renewal of Block 2 is a critical piece of PSPC’s Long Term Vision and Plan for the Parliamentary Precinct. A design competition, launched in spring 2021, ensures that the final design for this city block brings forward new vitality to a significant part of Confederation Boulevard. The goal is to transform this mix of buildings into an innovative complex that will meet the needs of Parliament and the public now and into the future.

On Monday, April 11, from 10 am to 1 pm, the six finalist competitors will speak to their vision for this prominent space in Canada’s capital.

The finalists who will be presenting are:

• Presentation 1 – Zeidler Architecture Inc., in association with David Chipperfield Architects
• Presentation 2 – Diamond Schmitt Architects, in a joint venture with Bjarke Ingels Group, KWC Architects and ERA Architects
• Presentation 3 – Provencher Roy + Associés Architectes Inc.
• Presentation 4 – Watson MacEwen Teramura Architects, in a joint venture with Behnisch Architekten
• Presentation 5 – Wilkinson Eyre, in association with IDEA Inc.
• Presentation 6 – NEUF Architects, in a joint venture with Renzo Piano Building Workshop

The video will be live-streamed on Facebook at this link.

Block 2 is the city block immediately south of Parliament Hill in downtown Ottawa, nestled in the heart of Canada’s Parliamentary Precinct. It faces Parliament’s Centre Block and its Peace Tower to the north, and is bounded by Metcalfe, Wellington, O’Connor and Sparks streets.

The redesigned block will provide office space for the Senate and the House of Commons and will allow for the future consolidation of parliamentary accommodations, including space for the Library of Parliament. It will also include renovated retail space in the Sparks Street Mall.

“I’ve always known that at some point we would get around to filling in the biggest missing piece—which was what we now call Block 2, but we could also call the fourth side of Parliament Square, or the closing of Parliament Hill,” says John Ralston Saul, Honorary Jury Chair. “I realize that there is the whole utilitarian aspect to what the building on Block 2 will have to be and do [in containing Parliamentary offices, among other functions]. And we know that the Sparks Street side of the building will be some kind of architectural palimpsest, given the number of protected buildings.”

“But the Wellington side—the Fourth Side of Parliament Square—cannot help but call for drama, inspiration, and frankly, magic. There has to be something astonishing about what is done there, which will fit in with the magic of the other three Parliament buildings. This is an opportunity to do something completely different,” says Saul.

Two of the eleven buildings in Block 2 are dedicated to the development of an Indigenous Peoples’ Space. While these buildings stand independently from the design competition, the aim is to ensure the design and construction for the entire block honours and respects the significance of the space.

“The disjointed block facing Parliament Hill contains multiple heritage buildings of varied quality, and some empty lots. Critically, it is split into two parts by the former American Embassy and the CIBC Banking Hall; both buildings and the space between them have been gifted to Canada’s First Nations, Inuit and Métis as an Indigenous Peoples Space (IPS) at the heart of the Parliamentary Precinct,” writes Jury chair Bruce Haden. “As the discussions about the future form and use of the IPS are ongoing, the competition rules set up this portion of the site as an excluded zone. However, the current Canadian conversations about Reconciliation—and the prominence of the IPS on the site—means that the competitors must grapple with the potent issue of the relationship between Indigenous peoples and the Canadian nation-state.”

The presentations on April 11 will be made available publicly and feedback on the six design schemes is welcomed through e-mail at TPSGC.DGSIPEngagement-SPIBEngagement...gc-pwgsc.gc.ca.

The winning project will be selected by a competition jury at the end of April.

To learn more about the Block 2 design competition, visit: https://www.tpsgc-pwgsc.gc.ca/…/conc...esign-eng.html

https://www.canadianarchitect.com/bl...nday-april-11/

[J.OT13]

I didn't realize they had gifted the CIBC Building to the Indigenous. It closed fairly recently (November 2020 if I remember correctly), the last of the heritage bank buildings that continued to be used as such.

I'm afraid that the competition will result in a whole bunch of facadism, but hope to see something similar to the Bank of Canada or Performance Court, with the entire heritage structures integrated within atriums.

[J.OT13]

Today's the day:

https://www.facebook.com/events/2803...story%22%3A%22

[bartlebooth]

Originally Posted by J.OT13

Today's the day:

https://www.facebook.com/events/2803...story%22%3A%22

I'm on the edge of my seat!

[waterloowarrior]

Team presentations starting now
https://www.facebook.com/PSPC.SPAC/v...48597098885803

[SL123]

So far that first presentation is so so so underwhelming. I would even say Ugly

[waterloowarrior]

Zeidler/David Chipperfield team proposal



DSA/Bjarke Ingels team proposal



Provencher Roy team proposal



Watson MacEwen Teramura/Behnisch Architekten team


Wilkinson Eyre/IDEA


Renzo Piano/NEUF

[SL123]

it only got better after the first presentation

[Kitchissippi]

It’s become evident that reserving the old US embassy for the indigenous space was so premature and really adversely affected this project. The entire east side would have been better instead of right in the middle which cuts this project in two and leaves central part unknown and untouchable for now.

[waterloowarrior]

Added a poll option up top

[Kelnoz]

Originally Posted by SL123

it only got better after the first presentation

The last one competed with the first one for most mediocre... The presentation itself was also awful, they didn't care at all.

[UrbOttawa]

One stand out aspect for the BIG proposal was how well it integrates with the heritage buildings on Sparks/Metcalfe (even if they're just facades). The other proposals seemed to follow the Toronto standard plopping a huge volume above the heritage buildings that have no relation to each other.

[waterloowarrior]

Originally Posted by UrbOttawa

One stand out aspect for the BIG proposal was how well it integrates with the heritage buildings on Sparks/Metcalfe (even if they're just facades). The other proposals seemed to follow the Toronto standard plopping a huge volume above the heritage buildings that have no relation to each other.

Their design also seems to allow for Peace Tower/Centre Block views further down Metcalfe than many of the other teams that put a larger building right against the street.

[Harley613]

My initial kneejerk reactions to each proposal, which may evolve over time: (EDIT : They will definitely evolve after I finish watching the presentations)

Zeidler/David Chipperfield team proposal
No. Just no.

DSA/Bjarke Ingels team proposal
I like it. It's very Euro looking. I like the total contrast between this modern take and the facades it surrounds, it creates strong contrast between the new and the old and allows both to stand out separately. Make or break here for me would be the materials used. Limestone panels would be gorgeous, concrete would come off almost brutalist.

Provencher Roy team proposal
It's kind of a mess. What is on the top left, it looks like greenhousess? I'm not digging the roman/greek looking rotunda thing on the left side. I can't quite tell what I'm looking at with this one.

Watson MacEwen Teramura/Behnisch Architekten team
This one looks like a safe option. Nothing much to say about it.

Wilkinson Eyre/IDEA
This one is super bizarre to me. It looks like the whole thing is inspired by the Ottawa Adult High School. I don't like it.

Renzo Piano/NEUF
Another safe option. They are just buildings. Nothing much to say about this one either.

[Kitchissippi]

Originally Posted by UrbOttawa

One stand out aspect for the BIG proposal was how well it integrates with the heritage buildings on Sparks/Metcalfe (even if they're just facades). The other proposals seemed to follow the Toronto standard plopping a huge volume above the heritage buildings that have no relation to each other.

The first thing I thought when I saw that rendering is the killer ice sheets that could come down on pedestrians.

I wasn’t that impressed with the way any of them looked from Parliament Hill and the way they completed the urban room. With a bit of work and detailing on the facade, I think Wilkinson Eyre/IDEA is probably the one I like most. Had those lower metal structures been more curved like gothic arches, and the stone fins carved with different leaf patterns, it would share some of the intricacy and richness of the buildings in the Parliamentary precinct.

[Richard Eade]

My issue with most of the presented ideas is that they are using the same look on each side of a smaller building. If they could make it a large, expansive building face, some of the designs might work – but not when it is broken. In my opinion, it would be best to have a different look to the building on either side of the old US embassy.

Why can’t we have something more traditional, more ‘stately’? Something that looks solid, and lasting. Obviously, some decorative elements are appreciated, but flouncy parapets, as the Wilkinson Eyre/IDEA shows, are not.

These people/groups are termed ‘Starchitects’. And I get that they were, likely, told not to try to make the buildings look old. But, sheesh. Is not one of them capable of designing something that would be functional, new (and distinct), but that fits in with the concept that this is, essentially, the Parliament of Canada?

Or, maybe that is the problem. If they could get their name on a building here, think of the traffic it would bring into their business. They would be the masters of the new and avant-garde.

Well, that might be fine for a university campus, but I feel that it portrays the wrong message here. For me, all of these groups should now be banned from a second round of submissions.

Take a look at some of the new buildings that have gone up in the core. The James Michael Flaherty Building is a great example of a functional building that looks great in its context. Maybe, just maybe, the NCC could take the lead on this project.

[waterloowarrior]

I added a "none of the above" option for Richard and anyone with similar feelings

[Richard Eade]

Voted. Thanks, waterloowarrior.

[Uhuniau]

Where is Mr. Holt when we need him?

[Kitchissippi]

The southwest corner of this lot is a mere 300 feet or so from the LRT station and I’m disappointed that none of them hinted at a direct link. Probably out of scope, I know, but it ignores what has become a major mode of access. Imagine getting off the O-Train and instead of going into Winners you could walk through a short passageway beneath O’Connor and emerge out into one of the proposed atriums with access to Wellington. I’m thinking of a space with a Service Canada counter, a passport office, and a tourist information centre, etc., so it has an important public purpose. All the uses presented seemed potentially exclusive to Parliamentarians and government business, reminding me of what happened to the Bank of Canada’s winter garden where the public gets shut out of buildings they’ve paid for.