Latest progress on the Centre Block project

Vaux Wall removal

To allow excavation to begin, we took apart the Vaux Wall, which was the stone retaining wall that flanked both sides of the stairway leading to the Centre Block. The Vaux Wall is named for the famous landscape architect Calvert Vaux, who also co-designed the city of New York’s Central Park. Vaux designed the plan for the public grounds on Parliament Hill in the 1870s.

We carefully labelled each stone and recorded where it lay, then took the wall apart and cleaned the pieces. The stones will be in storage until it is time to re-build the wall.

The retaining wall on Parliament Hill, known as the Vaux Wall, shown here before construction began on the Centre Block (click to view enlarged image)

Workers preparing stones from the Vaux Wall for storage (click to view enlarged image)

See how we carefully removed the retaining wall in front of the Centre Block (click to watch the video).

Preparing the interior of the building

After we carefully uninstall heritage elements, such as stained-glass windows, wood panelling and marble in office spaces and the linen ceiling in the House of Commons Chamber, to ensure they are safe, we will remove interior finishes and bring parts of the building down to their bare bones. This step is called “demolition and abatement.”

The “demolition” refers to removing interior finishes, like floors, ceilings and walls. “Abatement” refers to identifying, segregating and disposing of any hazardous materials.

The 6th floor taken down to its bones. The ceilings, flooring, walls and plaster have all been removed. Other areas of the building with more heritage elements in them will be kept more intact (click to view enlarged image)

Work is underway throughout the building, but not all areas will be demolished or abated to the same degree. The majestic spaces in the main public areas, for example, the Senate Chamber, the House of Commons Chamber and the Hall of Honour, will receive careful attention. Important heritage and architectural elements will either be removed and stored or protected and preserved in place while construction continues around them.

Protecting heritage elements

When the building was cleared in preparation for construction, we removed all of the artwork and decorations that were not physically part of the building. In addition, we are now in the process of removing other items that were attached to the building, but can be removed, like chandeliers and heritage flooring. All of these elements are carefully put into crates and sent to storage, where they will remain until construction is complete and they can be returned to the newly renovated spaces.

Heritage elements that cannot be removed, such as carvings and murals, will stay in their current location and are being covered and protected.

Watch how we are protecting heritage elements, such as carvings, murals and marble floors, while we work on the Centre Block (click to watch the video).

Watch this video to see how we removed and restored the 8 war paintings that hung in the Senate Chamber for decades (click to watch the video).

Watch this video to see experts carefully remove the linen canvas ceiling from the House of Commons Chamber to protect it (click to watch the video).

Plywood protects an ornate staircase in the House of Commons foyer (click to view enlarged image).

Workers carefully dismantle the heritage chandelier that hung in the Senate Chamber. The huge chandeliers weigh 1,542 kilograms each. The pieces will be crated and stored to protect them (click to view enlarged image).

Workers carefully removing stained-glass windows in the Memorial Chamber (click to view enlarged image).

The ceiling of the House of Commons Chamber is decorated with painted linen. We carefully removed the fabric and rolled it up to protect it (click to view enlarged image).

Safeguarding the Library of Parliament

The Library of Parliament in the Centre Block was renovated from 2002 to 2006 and will require some maintenance and upgrades before reopening. Due to the extensive renovations taking place outside its doors, it will remain closed for the duration of the Centre Block project. While some items from its collection were relocated to Library branch locations across the Parliamentary Precinct, most of its collection is now housed in the Library’s facility at 45 Sacré-Coeur Boulevard in Gatineau, Quebec.

The branch of the Library of Parliament at 125 Sparks Street was renovated between 2017 and 2018. It is operating as the interim main branch while the Centre Block is closed.

Once the Centre Block and the new Parliament Welcome Centre are completed, the Library in the Centre Block will reopen and the Visitor Experience Program will return to the Centre Block.

The interior of the Centre Block's Library of Parliament (click to view enlarged image)

The exterior the Library of Parliament (click to view enlarged image)

Protecting from earthquakes

The Centre Block is located in an active earthquake zone. Its original structure does not provide sufficient protection against earthquakes. To meet modern seismic standards, the building needed to be made safer and more resilient.

The least expensive and most effective solution that avoids harming the building’s heritage fabric is base isolation. Base isolation involves separating the Centre Block from the Canadian Shield foundation and placing it on more than 500 base isolators, which essentially act as large shock absorbers.

We are using base isolation technology to ensure that the Centre Block and the Peace Tower can meet the required building code. They are being retrofitted to withstand a magnitude 6.0 earthquake. Read more about how we are preparing the Centre Block to withstand earthquakes.