Ottawa, Ontario, Canada
Diamond Schmitt Architects, KWC Architects, and landscape architects DTAH created the new home for Canada’s Senate evoking the country’s plural identity—rooted in history, appointed by the Canadian government.
The project has been awarded a 2021 International Architecture Award by The Chicago Athenaeum: Museum of Architecture and Design and The European Centre for Architecture Art Design and Urban Studies.
Since 1922, the Senate has been located at the Center Block on Parliament Hill. But for the next decade, due to restoration efforts, they have moved to the century-old, former train station in Ottawa.
Transitional and symbolic, this landmark has been architecturally transformed to accommodate the Senate.
The historic axial procession of five beautiful public rooms inspired the architectural design, showcasing a multilayered cultural narrative. Ottawa’s former Union Station sits at the junction of Town and Crown, part of a gateway building to the Parliamentary Precinct.
Decades of misuse had left its interior spaces in need of intricate restorations. In addition, initially constructed adjacent to a hotel—now long demolished—Union Station was always without an east facade.
As a re-imagined 1912 Beaux-Arts monument, an entirely new limestone east facade has been designed in accordance with the composition of the historic west facade—seven bays and six columns—in the Beaux-Arts style.
The juxtaposition of existing and new continues in the restored General Waiting Room where contemporary pavilions sit in contrast within the majestic heritage interiors.
Enclosed in perforated bronze panels, the new Committee Rooms stand apart from the Beaux-Art elements.
On top, semi-public lounges energize the atmosphere. Flexible and functional, these pavilions are also designed to serve the building’s future use as Federal Committee Rooms.
The new Senate Chamber is housed in the former train station concourse where long-hidden elements have been revealed and restored.
A contemporary layer, new bronze panels are perforated to reveal imagery of iconic Canadian landscapes.
Working collaboratively with the Dominion Sculptor of Canada, and employing digital technologies, a dialogue between traditional craft and leading-edge fabrication informs the material selection and the design of myriad details.
For example, the leaf pattern of ten native maple trees is hand-carved, scanned, composed, then CNC-carved, and imposed on the wooden doors.
These details renew the Canadian identity and express the country’s strong relationship with nature.
Moreover, bronze, milled wood, cast glass, stone, and wool carpets form a complete suite of custom-crafted finishes designed by the architects.
Ottawa’s restored train station has also been equipped with resilient infrastructure reinvention, upgraded energy systems, and complete accessibility.
The restoration and repurposing of key heritage features allowed the retention of significant embodied energy contained in the original structure.
Demolition activities were completed using source sorting and recycling initiatives, reducing the waste by 93%.
Building envelope upgrades also resulted in savings of CO2 emissions of 162,000 kg compared to a benchmark building, and a 12% improvement in overall energy efficiency.
The transformed building has received Green Globe 4 certification.
Completed in 2019, the design delivers more than a parliamentary building.
Project: The Senate of Canada Building
Architects: Diamond Schmitt Architects and KWC Architects Inc.
Lead Architects: Don Schmitt, Martin Davidson, and Ralph Wiesbrock
Design Team: Corina Ardeleanu, Matthew Barker, Sharon Birnbaum, Steve Bondar, Sydney Browne, Jenna Chapman, Jeong Choe, Kholisile Dhliwayo, Janis Hamacher, Christopher Hughes, Dieter Janssen, Tamara Khou, Jacqueline Leslie, Catherine Lin, Wen-Ting Lu, Jennifer Mallard, Jessica Martin, Laszlo Mohacsi, Nazia Mulji, Thom Pratt, Graeme Reed, Fernanda Rubin, Sean Siddons, Irina Solop, Kristin Speth, Eric Sziraki, Alan Tyndall, and Elcin Unal
Client: Public Services and Procurement Canada, Government of Canada
Contractor: PCL
Original Architects: Ross and MacFarlane (1912)
Landscape Architects: DTAH
Photographers: Tom Arban Photography and Doublespace Photography
