Senate of Canada Building photo gallery
Discover photos of the project to restore and modernize the Senate of Canada Building, formerly known as the Government Conference Centre.
Interim Senate Chamber
Before it was the Government Conference Centre, the building was Union Station, Ottawa's main train station. The interim Senate Chamber was built in what used to be the train station concourse. When Union Station was closed in 1966, it was turned into the conference centre. Renovations carried out in the 1960s and 1970s split the concourse into separate rooms, such as the kitchenette pictured in the photo on the far left. In its recent project, Public Services and Procurement Canada (PSPC) opened up the space to give visitors a full appreciation of this opulent room. We restored the heritage coffered plaster ceiling and created the space for the Chamber.
2015
A kitchenette was built in the concourse in the 1970s.
2016
A large room under construction. Part of the floor is poured concrete. The rest is unfinished gravel. This picture shows the poor condition of the coffered ceiling, which was painted green in the 1970s.
2017
The same room with completed concrete floor. There is scaffolding to allow workers to restore the ceiling.
2018
The same room transformed into the finished interim Senate Chamber.
General Waiting Room
PSPC restored and modernized the former train station's general waiting room to house two committee rooms. As part of the project, we removed modifications made in the 1960s and 70s, such as translation booths that covered the heritage stairway. We restored the vaulted plaster ceiling, the columns, the heritage windows and the marble floors. The previous renovations had a raised floor, which covered the bottom two stairs of the main staircase. The raised floor was carpeted, as you can see in the first photo. During the project, we removed the raised floor and discovered heritage marble floors under it. We protected the marble floors with plywood during construction and they can now be seen, restored to their original beauty.
2015
The waiting room of a former train station. Translation booths with wood panelling and tinted windows cover the grand stairs. A similar booth on the right covers the east wall. Carpet covers the floor.
2016
The same room under construction with the booths removed. Plywood covers the floor.
2017
The same room with scaffolding throughout.
2018
The finished room. The staircase is restored. There are two committee rooms on each side of the space covered with perforated bronze panels representing east and west sceneries. The floor is original marble.
2018
The finished room (alternate view).
Committee rooms
PSPC designed and built two committee rooms in the former train station's general waiting room. The rooms are designed so that they are independent of the existing heritage building structure. That means, in the future, if the rooms are no longer needed, they can be removed with minimal harm to the heritage features of the building.
2015
The general waiting room of the former train station.
2016
The view from the same location in the general waiting room. A ceiling is being built overhead.
2017
A view from the same location. There are walls and the ceiling is being installed.
2018
A view from the same location, now a finished room with desks and chairs.
Exterior view of east addition
When the train station was built in 1912, a hotel was attached to it on the east side. However, the neighbouring structure was demolished in the 1960s, leaving a bare exterior wall. As part of the rehabilitation project, PSPC added a new addition to that part of the building. The facade of the addition complements the Beaux-Arts style of the rest of the building. The addition includes stairs and an elevator, which together improve flow and make the building more accessible.
2015
The exterior view of the east side of the building before the rehabilitation. There is a plain flat wall. There is a tall, narrow black addition on the outside of the wall.
2016
The same exterior view of the building. The stairwell (black addition) has been removed.
2017
The same exterior view of the building. There is scaffolding and the new east addition is being built.
2018
The same exterior view of the building. The east addition is complete with a Beaux-Arts inspired facade.
Third floor meeting room
PSPC carried out extensive structural work on the main entrance block for it to meet modern seismic and building codes. This meeting room, located in that part of the building, boasts heritage windows, which we protected and refinished before completing the room.
2016
The interior of a building that has been stripped down to the structural components. Plastic covers where the windows would be.
2017
The same view of the interior. There is a wall and plumbing and electrical wires can be seen overhead.
2018
The same view of the interior with ceilings, walls and windows installed.
2018
The same view of the interior (completed).
Page details
- Date modified: