Ottawa Construction News staff writer
The Government of Canada has launched an architectural design competition for city block facing Parliament Hill.
A total of 12 teams have been pre-qualified for the architectural design competition to develop Block 2 on Parliament Hill. Selected teams had the highest evaluated scores out of the applications received following the Request for Qualification. All teams include at least one Canadian partner.
“The site facing Parliament Hill is of national significance, and the building program includes many issues critical to society today: urban revitalization, heritage integration, cultural reconciliation, sustainability and the 21st–century workplace,” said Peter Ortved, architect and professional advisor for the Royal Architectural Institute of Canada. “A competition is sure to draw out the best responses.”
The following teams are now invited to submit an outline design concept as part of stage 1 of the design competition:
- Architecture49 Inc.(Ottawa) in joint venture with Foster+Partners (London, United Kingdom) in association with DFS Inc. Architecture & Design (Montréal, Canada)
- BDP Quadrangle (Toronto) in joint venture with Herzog & de Meuron (Basel, Switzerland)
- Diamond Schmitt Architects (Toronto) in joint venture with Bjarke Ingels Group (New York, United States), KWC Architects (Ottawa) and ERA Architects (Toronto)
- Grimshaw Architects (New York, United States) in association with Daoust Lestage Lizotte Stecker (Montréal)
- Hassell Ltd. (Melbourne, Australia) in association with Partisans (Toronto)
- Hopkins Architects (London, United Kingdom) in association with CORE Architects Inc. (Toronto)
- KPMB Architects (Toronto)
- NEUF Architects (Ottawa) in joint venture with Renzo Piano Building Workshop (Paris, France)
- Provencher Roy + Associés Architectes Inc. (Montréal)
- Watson MacEwen Teramura Architects (Ottawa) in joint venture with Behnisch Architekten (Boston, United States)
- Wilkinson Eyre (London, United Kingdom) in association with IDEA Inc. (Ottawa)
- Zeidler Architecture Inc. (Toronto) in association with David Chipperfield Architects (London, United Kingdom)
The Government of Canada is revitalizing the Parliamentary Precinct, preserving it for all Canadians, ensuring it meets the needs of a 21st-century Parliament and making it greener, safer and more accessible. The architectural design competition launched last week is to redevelop Block 2, the city block facing Parliament Hill and surrounded by Wellington, Sparks, Metcalfe and O’Connor streets.
This is the first stage of a competition that will ultimately transform this mix of aging buildings into an innovative complex that will create a balance between heritage, accessibility, security and sustainability.
An independent jury will examine and evaluate design concepts submitted during the design competition and will recommend the prize winners to the department, which will award prizes for the three best designs.
The jury includes:
- national and international design professionals
- members of Canadian academia
- members of Canadian civil society
- members of Parliament
The new and renovated facilities will provide needed space for the Senate and House of Commons while work is undertaken on other aging buildings within the Parliamentary Precinct. Buildings will also allow for the future consolidation of parliamentary accommodations, including space for the Library of Parliament, into Crown-owned assets. Retail space along Sparks Street will also be renovated and made available for rent following construction.
In collaboration with the Royal Architectural Institute of Canada, a multidisciplinary independent jury will evaluate the design concepts submitted and select the six best designs to advance to stage 2 of the competition.
PSPC says it will continue to work closely with the Senate, the House of Commons, the Library of Parliament, the Parliamentary Protective Service and stakeholders such as the City of Ottawa, the National Capital Commission and the Federal Heritage Buildings Review Office in revitalizing the Parliamentary Precinct.
