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The smell of fresh varnish hung in the air Friday as the government showcased the renovated West Block that will serve as “the heart of Canada’s democratic parliamentary system” for at least the next decade.
While Centre Block undergoes extensive renovations, MPs will move to the West Block in January 2019 to meet in a new interim House of Commons constructed within the rectangular interior courtyard of the edifice. It’s a 19th-century structure that pre-dates Confederation and was built long before modern building codes.
“At the end of the day, the most important objective is to make sure we deliver facilities that meet the full needs of Parliament and that will inspire future Canadians for generations to come,” said Rob Wright, assistant deputy minister of the Parliamentary Precinct Branch.
Work has been underway on West Block for more than seven years. The numbers are staggering: Some 70,000 cubic metres of bedrock — enough to fill 28 Olympic-sized swimming pools — has been hewn from beneath the building to a depth of 15 metres. Five million tonnes of structural steel (Canadian made) was added to the building to support the glass roof over the interim House and protect the building against earthquakes.
It is the largest masonry restoration project in Canadian history and involved working on the 140,000 stones in the building’s exterior walls and replacing 1.5 million bricks in the interior walls.
West Block’s renovation and restoration is expected to cost $863 million when complete.
Photos: Sneak peek at the move of the House of Commons to its new location in West Block
Architecturally, the interim House of Commons melds modernity and nature — it used to be outside after all — with the heritage structure of the original West Block. The glass roof allows natural light, augmented by LED lighting necessary for it to function as a TV broadcast studio.
“The architecture here is highly significant,” said Georges Drolet, a partner in EVOQ Architecture. The design of the interim House and the new areas of West Block echo the old form in a “celebration” of the building’s neo-gothic heritage.
But the architects also wanted to recognize the landscape and nature of Canada — “this clearing of the forest,” as Drolet put it — drawing inspiration from the paintings of Tom Thomson, for example.
“You have the natural light, you can see the trees and the branches when you look up,” he said.
The woodwork, mostly birch and red oak, was done by Beaubois Group based in Quebec. The House is filled with temporary plywood desks and furniture, but those will be replaced with the real furniture from the Centre Block House of Commons.
West Block was never meant to be a public building and shoe-horning 338 MPs, Hill staff and visitors into the space meant compromises had to be made.
The public viewing gallery has 346 seats, 40 per cent fewer than the 581 seats in the Centre Block gallery. As well, public tours will not be permitted when MPs are sitting. To compensate, tour hours will be extended in the summer, during parliamentary breaks and on weekends. (Even in Centre Block, tour groups are not permitted near the House of Commons when the House is in session.)
The West Block also features a new visitor entrance and security screening area at the building’s northeast corner, the corner nearest Centre Block. Visitors will descend underground on escalators to a new entrance hall, with an adjacent gift shop.
Committee rooms, located in the newly excavated underground areas, are more modern and provide better cybersecurity than the existing rooms. The parliamentary dining room, however, is much smaller, with fewer than half the seats of the dining room in Centre Block.
The move from Centre Block was originally to have taken place in the fall of 2018, but MPs voted this week to delay it until January 2019. The Senate will move to its new location at the Government Conference Centre, across the Château Laurier, which is undergoing its own $269-million refit.
bcrawford@postmedia.com
Twitter.com/getBAC
查看原文...
While Centre Block undergoes extensive renovations, MPs will move to the West Block in January 2019 to meet in a new interim House of Commons constructed within the rectangular interior courtyard of the edifice. It’s a 19th-century structure that pre-dates Confederation and was built long before modern building codes.
“At the end of the day, the most important objective is to make sure we deliver facilities that meet the full needs of Parliament and that will inspire future Canadians for generations to come,” said Rob Wright, assistant deputy minister of the Parliamentary Precinct Branch.
Work has been underway on West Block for more than seven years. The numbers are staggering: Some 70,000 cubic metres of bedrock — enough to fill 28 Olympic-sized swimming pools — has been hewn from beneath the building to a depth of 15 metres. Five million tonnes of structural steel (Canadian made) was added to the building to support the glass roof over the interim House and protect the building against earthquakes.
It is the largest masonry restoration project in Canadian history and involved working on the 140,000 stones in the building’s exterior walls and replacing 1.5 million bricks in the interior walls.
West Block’s renovation and restoration is expected to cost $863 million when complete.
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Photos: Sneak peek at the move of the House of Commons to its new location in West Block
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Photos: Sneak peek at the move of the House of Commons to its new location in West Block
The exterior of the building as the media gets a tour of the West Block on Parliament Hill to observe the construction as it begins to near the end and Members of Parliament will begin sitting in the new House of Commons sometime in January 2019. The plywood desks will be replaced with the desks currently used in the original House of Commons when the move is completed. a Wayne Cuddington/Postmedia
The new House of Commons as the media gets a tour of the West Block on Parliament Hill to observe the construction as it begins to near the end and Members of Parliament will begin sitting in the new House of Commons sometime in January 2019. The plywood desks will be replaced with the desks currently used in the original House of Commons when the move is completed. Photo by Wayne Cuddington/ Postmedia Wayne Cuddington/Postmedia
The interim House of Commons Chamber in seen during a media tour of the renovated West Block on Parliament Hill in Ottawa on Friday, June 15, 2018. Justin Tang/THE CANADIAN PRESS
The new House of Commons featuring a vaulted glass ceiling and exposure to the historical building as the media gets a tour of the West Block on Parliament Hill to observe the construction as it begins to near the end and Members of Parliament will begin sitting in the new House of Commons sometime in January 2019. Photo by Wayne Cuddington/ Postmedia Wayne Cuddington/Postmedia
The new House of Commons featuring a vaulted glass ceiling and exposure to the historical building as the media gets a tour of the West Block on Parliament Hill to observe the construction as it begins to near the end and Members of Parliament will begin sitting in the new House of Commons sometime in January 2019. Photo by Wayne Cuddington/ Postmedia Wayne Cuddington/Postmedia
The interim House of Commons Chamber in seen during a media tour of the renovated West Block on Parliament Hill in Ottawa on Friday, June 15, 2018. Justin Tang/THE CANADIAN PRESS
Desks, including the desk where the Prime Minister is expected to sit, centre, are seen in the interim House of Commons Chamber during a media tour of the renovated West Block on Parliament Hill in Ottawa on Friday, June 15, 2018. The plywood desks are temporary furnishings for the purpose of preparing each desk's electronic equipment in advance of the actual desks, which will be brought in from existing House of Commons Justin Tang/THE CANADIAN PRESS
The new House of Commons featuring a vaulted glass ceiling and exposure to the historical building as the media gets a tour of the West Block on Parliament Hill to observe the construction as it begins to near the end and Members of Parliament will begin sitting in the new House of Commons sometime in January 2019. Photo by Wayne Cuddington/ Postmedia Wayne Cuddington/Postmedia
Construction cleaner Tigest Asefa, wearing protective coverings on her boots to protect the carpets, gets a look at the new House of Commons as the media gets a tour of the West Block on Parliament Hill to observe the construction as it begins to near the end. Members of Parliament will begin sitting in the new House of Commons sometime in January 2019. Wayne Cuddington/Postmedia
The new House of Commons as the media gets a tour of the West Block on Parliament Hill to observe the construction as it begins to near the end and Members of Parliament will begin sitting in the new House of Commons sometime in January 2019. The plywood desks will be replaced with the desks currently used in the original House of Commons when the move is completed. Photo by Wayne Cuddington/ Postmedia Wayne Cuddington/Postmedia
The glass roof above the interim House of Commons Chamber in seen during a media tour of the renovated West Block on Parliament Hill in Ottawa on Friday, June 15, 2018. Justin Tang/THE CANADIAN PRESS
Construction cleaner Tigest Asefa gets a look at the new House of Commons as the media gets a tour of the West Block on Parliament Hill to observe the construction as it begins to near the end and Members of Parliament will begin sitting in the new House of Commons sometime in January 2019. Photo by Wayne Cuddington/ Postmedia Wayne Cuddington/Postmedia
One of the four committee rooms as the media gets a tour of the West Block on Parliament Hill to observe the construction as it begins to near the end and Members of Parliament will begin sitting in the new House of Commons sometime in January 2019. Photo by Wayne Cuddington/ Postmedia Wayne Cuddington/Postmedia
A committee room, located 45 feet underground, is seen during a media tour of the renovated West Block on Parliament Hill in Ottawa on Friday, June 15, 2018. Justin Tang/THE CANADIAN PRESS
The Peace Tower is seen as work continues on the exterior of the future Visitor Welcome Centre during a media tour of the renovated West Block on Parliament Hill in Ottawa on Friday, June 15, 2018. Justin Tang/THE CANADIAN PRESS
The steel structure supporting the glass roof meets the original roofline of Parliament Hill's West Block above the interim House of Commons Chamber during a media tour in Ottawa on Friday, June 15, 2018. Justin Tang/THE CANADIAN PRESS
The entrance for the general public as the media gets a tour of the West Block on Parliament Hill to observe the construction as it begins to near the end and Members of Parliament will begin sitting in the new House of Commons sometime in January 2019. Photo by Wayne Cuddington/ Postmedia Wayne Cuddington/Postmedia
The new House of Commons on the left has been been built inside the courtyard of the historical building on the right as the media gets a tour of the West Block on Parliament Hill to observe the construction as it begins to near the end and Members of Parliament will begin sitting in the new House of Commons sometime in January 2019. Photo by Wayne Cuddington/ Postmedia Wayne Cuddington/Postmedia
Entrances to the public gallery inside the new House of Commons which features a vaulted glass ceiling and exposure to the historical building as the media gets a tour of the West Block on Parliament Hill to observe the construction as it begins to near the end and Members of Parliament will begin sitting in the new House of Commons sometime in January 2019. Photo by Wayne Cuddington/ Postmedia Wayne Cuddington/Postmedia
The new House of Commons on the right has been been built inside the courtyard of the historical building on the left as the media gets a tour of the West Block on Parliament Hill to observe the construction as it begins to near the end and Members of Parliament will begin sitting in the new House of Commons sometime in January 2019. Photo by Wayne Cuddington/ Postmedia Wayne Cuddington/Postmedia
The underground North Court is seen during a media tour of the renovated West Block on Parliament Hill in Ottawa on Friday, June 15, 2018. Justin Tang/THE CANADIAN PRESS
Open space to be used as needed as the media gets a tour of the West Block on Parliament Hill to observe the construction as it begins to near the end and Members of Parliament will begin sitting in the new House of Commons sometime in January 2019. Photo by Wayne Cuddington/ Postmedia Wayne Cuddington/Postmedia
Open space to be used as needed as the media gets a tour of the West Block on Parliament Hill to observe the construction as it begins to near the end and Members of Parliament will begin sitting in the new House of Commons sometime in January 2019. Photo by Wayne Cuddington/ Postmedia Wayne Cuddington/Postmedia
Architectural renderings of what the merger between the Centre Block and West Block will look like. Media took a tour of the West Block on Parliament Hill to observe the construction as it begins to near the end and Members of Parliament will begin sitting in the new House of Commons sometime in January 2019. Handout Photo Wayne Cuddington/Postmedia
Architectural renderings of what the merger between the Centre Block and West Block will look like. Media took a tour of the West Block on Parliament Hill to observe the construction as it begins to near the end and Members of Parliament will begin sitting in the new House of Commons sometime in January 2019. Handout Photo Wayne Cuddington/Postmedia
Architecturally, the interim House of Commons melds modernity and nature — it used to be outside after all — with the heritage structure of the original West Block. The glass roof allows natural light, augmented by LED lighting necessary for it to function as a TV broadcast studio.
“The architecture here is highly significant,” said Georges Drolet, a partner in EVOQ Architecture. The design of the interim House and the new areas of West Block echo the old form in a “celebration” of the building’s neo-gothic heritage.
But the architects also wanted to recognize the landscape and nature of Canada — “this clearing of the forest,” as Drolet put it — drawing inspiration from the paintings of Tom Thomson, for example.
“You have the natural light, you can see the trees and the branches when you look up,” he said.
The woodwork, mostly birch and red oak, was done by Beaubois Group based in Quebec. The House is filled with temporary plywood desks and furniture, but those will be replaced with the real furniture from the Centre Block House of Commons.
West Block was never meant to be a public building and shoe-horning 338 MPs, Hill staff and visitors into the space meant compromises had to be made.
The public viewing gallery has 346 seats, 40 per cent fewer than the 581 seats in the Centre Block gallery. As well, public tours will not be permitted when MPs are sitting. To compensate, tour hours will be extended in the summer, during parliamentary breaks and on weekends. (Even in Centre Block, tour groups are not permitted near the House of Commons when the House is in session.)
The West Block also features a new visitor entrance and security screening area at the building’s northeast corner, the corner nearest Centre Block. Visitors will descend underground on escalators to a new entrance hall, with an adjacent gift shop.
Committee rooms, located in the newly excavated underground areas, are more modern and provide better cybersecurity than the existing rooms. The parliamentary dining room, however, is much smaller, with fewer than half the seats of the dining room in Centre Block.
The move from Centre Block was originally to have taken place in the fall of 2018, but MPs voted this week to delay it until January 2019. The Senate will move to its new location at the Government Conference Centre, across the Château Laurier, which is undergoing its own $269-million refit.
bcrawford@postmedia.com
Twitter.com/getBAC
查看原文...
