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  #1  
Old Posted Dec 17, 2019, 8:17 PM
c_speed3108 c_speed3108 is offline
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New British High Commission Sussex Drive | U/C

New High Commission building announced for Ottawa
Plans announced for a new modern, accessible and sustainable building set to open in early 2022.

Published 17 December 2019
From:
British High Commission Ottawa


Today, British High Commissioner to Canada Susan le Jeune d’Allegeershecque announced the UK government’s plans to construct a new High Commission building in Ottawa.

The modern building will be built on a lot adjacent to the High Commissioner’s residence, Earnscliffe, on land currently occupied by a decommissioned building once used for staff accommodation.

British High Commissioner Susan le Jeune d’Allegeershecque said:

This new building will allow us to consolidate our staff presence in Ottawa whilst providing us with a modern, accessible, and sustainable building that better suits our current priorities in Canada and our ambitions for developing the relationship with one of our closest partners.

At the same time, as trustees of Earnscliffe for almost 90 years, we are well aware of its special place in Ottawa’s history. We want to assure the public that we are working closely with architects, the City of Ottawa, National Capital Commission, and other community partners to ensure this new building respects and complements this historic home’s design and surrounding grounds.

The planning process with the City of Ottawa is currently underway. It includes the completion of a Cultural Heritage Impact Statement which along with community feedback will be used to refine elements of the project over the coming months.

Subject to this and final approval in the United Kingdom, it is expected work on the new building will start in mid-2020.

Renderings:
https://www.gov.uk/government/news/n...ced-for-ottawa
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  #2  
Old Posted Dec 17, 2019, 8:22 PM
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  #3  
Old Posted Dec 17, 2019, 8:25 PM
c_speed3108 c_speed3108 is offline
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Thanks ^^^^^
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Old Posted Dec 17, 2019, 8:28 PM
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Not a fan. I feel like this thing will overshadow Earnscliffe.

Also, is the current High Commission Building occupied by any other organization or is it just those 60 staff? Because the current building on Elgin is decently large building.

An what will happen to the current High Commission. IMO, it is one of the best examples of the International style in Ottawa.
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Old Posted Dec 17, 2019, 8:31 PM
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Originally Posted by J.OT13 View Post
Also, is the current High Commission Building occupied by any other organization or is it just those 60 staff? Because the current building on Elgin is decently large building.

An what will happen to the current High Commission. IMO, it is one of the best examples of the International style in Ottawa.
Was my first thought when I saw this thread. A decent building in a great, high-profile location.
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Old Posted Dec 17, 2019, 8:32 PM
c_speed3108 c_speed3108 is offline
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Originally Posted by J.OT13 View Post
Not a fan. I feel like this thing will overshadow Earnscliffe.

Also, is the current High Commission Building occupied by any other organization or is it just those 60 staff? Because the current building on Elgin is decently large building.

An what will happen to the current High Commission. IMO, it is one of the best examples of the International style in Ottawa.
I have previously seen ads to rent office space in that building. Entire floors.
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Old Posted Dec 17, 2019, 8:37 PM
OTownandDown OTownandDown is offline
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I have previously seen ads to rent office space in that building. Entire floors.
Never underestimate the costs and the priority that security will always get, at the cost of everything else.
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Old Posted Dec 17, 2019, 8:40 PM
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Never underestimate the costs and the priority that security will always get, at the cost of everything else.
Here is a current listing for the 4th floor

https://apollomgt.com/listings/80-elgin-street/

Digging into the details of the building link the UK Gov owns the building (not surprised) Tons of security restrictions. Sounds like there is a reserved elevator(s) to the 2nd ,3rd ,4th floors so those are probably what they are renting out. https://www.apollomgt.com/wp-content...gin-Street.pdf

https://www.apollomgt.com/wp-content...e-80-Elgin.pdf

Other tenants: NATIONAL DENTAL EXAMINGING BOARD,
Canadian Wireless Telecommunications Association

It's a very sell-able building for the UK. Nice way to send some money home - as Canada did a few places in Europe...including the UK :-)
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  #9  
Old Posted Dec 17, 2019, 8:39 PM
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For those who don't know the current building. A mid-century masterpiece.


https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Britis...ission,_Ottawa

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Originally Posted by c_speed3108 View Post
I have previously seen ads to rent office space in that building. Entire floors.
That makes sense. 60 people wouldn't be nearly enough people to even begin to fill-up that building.
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  #10  
Old Posted Dec 17, 2019, 8:44 PM
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This really came out of left field! They will be tearing down the huge guest house to make way for this. I'm sure the old building is costing a fortune for maintenance and instead of gutting and rebuilding they are consolidating. The new building looks very low key, I would have liked something more prominent and symbolic for one of our closest relationships.

High Comm by harley613, on Flickr
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Old Posted Dec 17, 2019, 9:51 PM
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Originally Posted by Harley613 View Post
This really came out of left field! They will be tearing down the huge guest house to make way for this. I'm sure the old building is costing a fortune for maintenance and instead of gutting and rebuilding they are consolidating. The new building looks very low key, I would have liked something more prominent and symbolic for one of our closest relationships.

High Comm by harley613, on Flickr
In 1966 my father was there twice to Earnscliffe.....one to watch the World Cup final on some sort of closed circuit TV when England beat Germany and then also for general election results from the UK as we lived briefly in Canada before moving back to the UK.

I've been to that building on Elgin. Very cramped and an interesting collection of people with passport problems.
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Old Posted Dec 18, 2019, 1:55 AM
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In 1966 my father was there twice to Earnscliffe.....one to watch the World Cup final on some sort of closed circuit TV when England beat Germany and then also for general election results from the UK as we lived briefly in Canada before moving back to the UK.
FYI you can get into Earnscliffe every first weekend of June during Doors Open.
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  #13  
Old Posted Dec 18, 2019, 2:45 AM
c_speed3108 c_speed3108 is offline
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I have seen it/toured at Doors Opens. They are definitely pretty proud of it and understand it's place in Canada's history and see themselves as the protector of that.

I guess the main thing is getting a design that works with.

One good thing now-a-days is many dipliomatic missions are considerably more modest than ones built decades ago.

Heck there are few real no frills ones in Ottawa such as the Swedish "We are above the tex-mex place in the Market" Embassy
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  #14  
Old Posted Dec 17, 2019, 11:22 PM
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Quote:
Originally Posted by c_speed3108 View Post
British High Commissioner Susan le Jeune d’Allegeershecque said:

This new building will allow us to consolidate our staff presence in Ottawa whilst providing us with a modern, accessible, and sustainable building that better suits our current priorities in Canada and our ambitions for developing the relationship with one of our closest partners...
Checks out as a statement by the UK ambassador...
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  #15  
Old Posted Dec 18, 2019, 4:08 AM
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Checks out as a statement by the UK ambassador...
I know High Commissioner Susan le Jeune d’Allegeershecque personally and she has a very proper accent when she needs to
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  #16  
Old Posted Dec 18, 2019, 2:27 PM
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For what it's worth, it will fir in with other modern white buildings on the street such as the Saudi embassy and the former World Pavillion or whatever. But I was also hoping for a little more "wow".
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  #17  
Old Posted Dec 18, 2019, 7:23 PM
Uhuniau Uhuniau is offline
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For what it's worth, it will fir in with other modern white buildings on the street such as the Saudi embassy and the former World Pavillion or whatever. But I was also hoping for a little more "wow".
The very long-term plan for Sussex should be to turn it back into a damn street, not a "drive" with a bunch of hideous ugly architectural vanity projects set back from it.
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  #18  
Old Posted Jan 10, 2020, 12:51 AM
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140 Sussex Dr [British High Commission] | ?m | 3f | Proposed

The United Kingdom Government’s Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) is modernizing their ongoing commitment of maintaining the British High Commission (BHC) in Canada. The current High Commission building, at 80 Elgin Street, does not suit the needs of the FCO and does not reflect their way of working. The proposed new British High Commission at 140 Sussex Drive will provide a modern work environment for Ottawa based FCO staff and will recognize the United Kingdom’s relationship with Canada.

The subject property is located at 140 Sussex Drive. It is the location of the official residence of the British High Commissioner in Canada.

The new British High Commission will be three stories in height and will feature a volumetric composition of cantilevered floors providing shade and protection to levels below. The building’s design and layout has resulted in a Gross Floor Area of 1,658 m2.

With regards to its massing and elevational treatment, the north side of the proposed building responds to the existing Earnsliffe residence and, as such, is capped at two stories in deference to the older building.

The southern volume is capped at three stories. This strategy helps to minimize the building’s footprint with the additional floor space at a distance from the residence and partially concealed in the tree canopy along Sussex Drive. The proposed building is intended to have a discreet presence on Sussex Drive in keeping with its neighbours.


Architect: HOK Architects


Development application:
https://app01.ottawa.ca/postingplans...appId=__BP4HGZ

Site:






Elevations:



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  #19  
Old Posted Jan 10, 2020, 1:30 AM
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Only 17,739 sq. ft. Surely they take up more space in their existing building. They have consulates in Vancouver, Calgary, Montreal and Toronto. Maybe the High Commission is not as important because of their nationwide presence these days...
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  #20  
Old Posted Jan 10, 2020, 6:23 AM
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Only 17,739 sq. ft. Surely they take up more space in their existing building. They have consulates in Vancouver, Calgary, Montreal and Toronto. Maybe the High Commission is not as important because of their nationwide presence these days...
There is a lot of unused space in that building.

The Brits also went all in on various employee-unfriendly office configurations before Canada did, so they are probably not allocating much space per employee.

They only seem to have 27 diplomats in Ottawa.
https://w05.international.gc.ca/Prot...247.1578637285

(there is local staff on top of that)
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