The Ottawa Public Library and Library and Archives Canada (OPL-LAC) joint facility was revealed at a ceremony on Jan. 23.
The $193-million, 216,000-sf project is being designed by Diamond Schmitt Architects and KWC Architects and will combine the shared resources of the partner institutions to create a place for gathering, learning, and discovery. The new facility will include exhibition and collections space, reading rooms, a creative center, a children’s area, a genealogy center, and a cafe spread across five floors and configured around a large town hall.
Reading Room.
The design of the building, which was created with the help of area residents, Indigenous communities, and Canadians from across the country at four public workshops, draws from Ottawa’s history and natural beauty with a dynamic form reminiscent of the nearby Ottawa River. The stone and wood exterior reflects the adjacent escarpment and surrounding green space on the western edge of downtown while the windows, top floors, and rooftop offer views of the Ottawa River and the Gatineau Hills in Quebec.
See Also: Timber grows up
Children's Area.
“The location at a cultural crossroads of a route that traces the three founding peoples – French, English and Indigenous – underscores the spirit of confluence in the building’s design and the possibilities for these memory institutions in a modern facility to advance the Canadian story,” said Donald Schmitt, Principal, Diamond Schmitt Architects, in a release.
The project is targeting a minimum of LEED Gold. The OPL-LAC facility is currently anticipated to open in late 2024.
Indigenous Centre.
Related Stories
Libraries | Nov 22, 2021
Atlanta’s Central Library completes its $50 million renovation
Cooper Carry in association with Vines Architecture designed the project.
Giants 400 | Nov 19, 2021
2021 Cultural Facilities Giants: Top architecture, engineering, and construction firms in the U.S. cultural facilities sector
Gensler, AECOM, Buro Happold, and Arup top BD+C's rankings of the nation's largest cultural facilities sector architecture, engineering, and construction firms, as reported in the 2021 Giants 400 Report.
Libraries | Sep 22, 2021
Three libraries in California were built in less than two years under a P3 contract
A nonprofit with tax advantages funded the project.
Giants 400 | Aug 30, 2021
2021 Giants 400 Report: Ranking the largest architecture, engineering, and construction firms in the U.S.
The 2021 Giants 400 Report includes more than 130 rankings across 25 building sectors and specialty categories.
Libraries | Aug 26, 2021
Fort Worth’s first public library for children opens
KAI designed the project.
Resiliency | Aug 19, 2021
White paper outlines cost-effective flood protection approaches for building owners
A new white paper from Walter P Moore offers an in-depth review of the flood protection process and proven approaches.
Libraries | Aug 17, 2021
ABA creates space for the Philip Roth Personal Library at the Newark Public Library
ABA partnered with Shawmut Design & Construction on the project.
Libraries | Aug 10, 2021
Lakeside Branch Library breaks ground
HED and PCL Construction are designing and building the project.
Libraries | Jul 9, 2021
Smith College’s newly renovated Neilson Library honors its past as it moves into the future
Adding more space for the library's Special Collections was a design imperative.
![Oceanographer John Englander talks resiliency and buildings [new on HorizonTV]](/sites/default/files/styles/list_big/public/Oceanographer%20John%20Englander%20Talks%20Resiliency%20and%20Buildings%20YT%20new_0.jpg?itok=enJ1TWJ8 "Oceanographer John Englander talks resiliency and buildings [new on HorizonTV]")
Resiliency | Jun 24, 2021
Oceanographer John Englander talks resiliency and buildings [new on HorizonTV]
New on HorizonTV, oceanographer John Englander discusses his latest book, which warns that, regardless of resilience efforts, sea levels will rise by meters in the coming decades. Adaptation, he says, is the key to future building design and construction.
