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
| Nov 9, 2010
Designing a library? Don’t focus on books
How do you design a library when print books are no longer its core business? Turn them into massive study halls. That’s what designers did at the University of Amsterdam, where they transformed the existing 27,000-sf library into a study center—without any visible books. About 2,000 students visit the facility daily and encounter workspaces instead of stacks.
| Nov 3, 2010
Seattle University’s expanded library trying for LEED Gold
Pfeiffer Partners Architects, in collaboration with Mithun Architects, programmed, planned, and designed the $55 million renovation and expansion of Lemieux Library and McGoldrick Learning Commons at Seattle University. The LEED-Gold-designed facility’s green features include daylighting, sustainable and recycled materials, and a rain garden.
| Oct 13, 2010
Bookworms in Silver Spring getting new library
The residents of Silver Spring, Md., will soon have a new 112,000-sf library. The project is aiming for LEED Silver certification.
| Aug 11, 2010
JE Dunn, Balfour Beatty among country's biggest institutional building contractors, according to BD+C's Giants 300 report
A ranking of the Top 50 Institutional Contractors based on Building Design+Construction's 2009 Giants 300 survey. For more Giants 300 rankings, visit http://www.BDCnetwork.com/Giants
| Aug 11, 2010
Jacobs, Arup, AECOM top BD+C's ranking of the nation's 75 largest international design firms
A ranking of the Top 75 International Design Firms based on Building Design+Construction's 2009 Giants 300 survey. For more Giants 300 rankings, visit http://www.BDCnetwork.com/Giants
| Aug 11, 2010
Harvard Public Library
Harvard, Mass.
Five years ago, the town of Harvard, Mass., which lies about 30 miles west of Boston, faced two problems. First, its iconic public schoolhouse, known as Old Bromfield, which was built in 1877, had become outdated. So, too, had its public library, which had no room to grow on its site.
| Aug 11, 2010
Gilbane, Whiting-Turner among nation's largest university contractors, according to BD+C's Giants 300 report
A ranking of the Top 50 University Contractors based on Building Design+Construction's 2009 Giants 300 survey. For more Giants 300 rankings, visit /giants
