Central library, archives project wins design approval from board
The board also announced its new honorary fundraising chair is Beverley McLachlin, retired chief justice of the Supreme Court of Canada.
Kelly Egan, Ottawa Citizen
Publishing date: Apr 13, 2021 • 10 hours ago • 2 minute read
The final design for Ottawa’s new central library — a shared building with Library and Archives Canada — was approved by the board of trustees Tuesday.
The $193-million project is a bright, swooping design on Albert Street on the eastern end of LeBreton Flats, described as both a “glowing lantern” and a “symbol of hope” for a city mired in a year-long pandemic.
The board also announced its new honorary fundraising chair is Beverley McLachlin, retired chief justice of the Supreme Court of Canada. She hopes to inspire a campaign to raise between $5 million and $10 million from members of the public.
“It is going to be a real landmark for Ottawa, one of the most important new buildings of the last few decades,” she said after the meeting.
She recalled fondly the importance of the little library in her childhood town of Pincher Creek, Alta., even remembering — decades later — its days and hours of operation. “That was our window on the world.”
The approved design was virtually identical to one released in January 2020 after months of public consultation and years of municipal-federal discussion.
It consists of five levels, with the city portion of the building taking up about 60 per cent of the space. The materials and colours are heavily borrowed from nature, from the western red cedar to the Algonquin limestone.
The city has been trying to replace its central branch at Laurier and Metcalfe streets for about 10 years. The collaboration with Library and Archives will allow the creation of a genealogy research centre and help drive foot traffic to the massive collection in federal hands.
There is a strong indigenous component to the design. It will feature children’s rooms that look like wigwams, use colours in harmony with native culture and have signs and greetings in traditional Anishinābe Algonquin.
While it has a central atrium, there are meeting spaces, a theatre, a civic reception area and a top-floor restaurant. It will also have a so-called green roof and wall and use solar panels. There are three main entrances and a link to the nearby Pimisi LRT station.
Mayor Jim Watson said the central library promised to be the “most exciting” new civic building of the last 25 years.
Diamond Schmitt Architects and KWC Architect teamed up on the project. Leading architect Gary McCluskie briefly led the board through the design history, which began with a swooping roofline — drawn on the back of a knapkin — inspired by the fast-flowing Ottawa River.
From there, the project went into a broad consultation, including 10 workshops, 3,000 online comments and details as tiny as the bird-proofing patterns on the raft of windows.
The matter goes to the National Capital Commission on April 22 for design approval. Construction on the 216,000-square-foot facility is to start in the fall, with an opening date in late 2024.
To contact Kelly Egan, please call 613-291-6265 or email
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Twitter.com/kellyegancolumn
https://ottawacitizen.com/news/local...val-from-board
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