Architectural design competition for Block 2
Coming soon: an architectural design competition to renew the city block across from Parliament Hill.
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Block 2 description
Block 2 is the city block immediately south of Parliament Hill in downtown Ottawa. It faces the Centre Block and its Peace Tower to the north. It is the threshold between the city-owned and Crown-owned lands. The block is bounded by Metcalfe, Wellington, O’Connor and Sparks streets.
A view from the Centre Block’s iconic Peace Tower showing Block 2. (Click the image to view enlarged version.)
The design competition
Our goal is to transform this mix of aging buildings and two vacant parcels of land into an innovative complex that will meet the needs of a modernized Parliament as well as the public.
The redesigned block will provide office space for the Senate and the House of Commons. It will also allow for the future consolidation of parliamentary accommodations, including space for the Library of Parliament, into Crown-owned assets. It will also include renovated retail space on the Sparks Street Mall.
Through an architectural design competition, we will invite architectural firms to submit design proposals. An independent and professional jury will recommend the winning design and team to the department, who will award prizes to the top designs.
The winning design is expected to be of the highest caliber and will complement the image of Canada and its capital on the world stage.
Two of the eleven buildings in Block 2 have been dedicated for the development of an Indigenous Peoples’ Space. While these buildings currently stand independently from the design competition, the department will ensure the design and construction for the entire block honour and respect the significance of the space, which sits at the heart of Canada’s Parliamentary Precinct.
Video: Government of Canada will soon launch design competition for city block facing Parliament Hill
A virtual presentation of Block 2 and the members of the independent jury who will evaluate the proposals and recommend the winners of the architectural design competition for the city block facing Parliament Hill. (Click to watch the video.)
Why a design competition
Architectural design competitions support variety and are among the most effective ways to achieve excellence in building design and architecture. They are often used to generate innovative new ideas. Canada’s original Parliament Buildings were the result of a design competition in 1859. Competitions have produced many culturally significant buildings in Canada and around the globe, such as:
- the Canadian Museum of History (formerly the Canadian Museum of Civilization), which is across the river from the Parliament Buildings
- Toronto City Hall
- the Sydney Opera House
- the Centre Pompidou
- the Tokyo International Forum
The jury
Read about the Jury for the architectural design competition for Block 2.
How the competition will work
The Royal Architectural Institute of Canada (RAIC) has endorsed this design competition and has designated professional advisors to oversee the overall competition process. RAIC’s role includes:
- providing general advice about design competition processes, including the competition brief, the remuneration and prize structure, as well as the selection of the jury
- providing design competition management expertise to the department through Phase eins, who coordinates and conducts the competition as the project manager
The competition will be done in 2 phases.
Phase 1: Request for Qualification
Phase 1 was open to all interested parties and closed on March 2, 2021. In this phase, firms had to demonstrate they were qualified to do the work. We are now assessing the submissions based on the criteria in the Request for Qualification.
The 12 firms with the highest evaluated score will be invited to participate in phase 2, the design competition.
Phase 2: Architectural design competition: Request for Proposals
Phase 2 will take place in 2 stages.
Competition stage 1
- This stage is expected to begin in summer 2021
- We will invite the selected competitors to submit an outline of their design concepts
- The jury will evaluate the design concepts and shortlist up to 6 competitors, who will then advance to stage 2 of the competition
Competition stage 2
- This stage is expected to begin in fall 2021
- We will invite the shortlisted competitors to submit an advanced design concept (a detailed design plan for the concept they submitted in the first stage)
- The jury will evaluate the submissions and recommend the 1st, 2nd and 3rd place teams
- We will award prizes for the 3 best designs
Related links
- Jury for the architectural design competition for Block 2
- Block 2 Request for Qualification on Buyandsell.gc.ca
- Explore the blocks south of Wellington Street
- Planning for the future of the Parliamentary Precinct campus
- Video: Government of Canada will soon launch design competition for city block facing Parliament Hill