Parliament | Center Block almost ready for its reconstruction phase

(Ottawa) The major restoration of the Parliament Center Block is almost ready to enter the reconstruction phase after six years of demolition, primary excavation and waste reduction.

The renovation is estimated between 4.5 and 5 billion. Siavash Mohajer, senior director of construction at Public Services and Procurement Canada, said that despite inflation, the budget estimate remains on track, but rising costs have put pressure on the project.

The renovation removed tons of asbestos and brought the building up to modern standards and safety systems, including technical capabilities. It also adds a brand new welcome center that will serve as the main public entrance to Parliament, with access to all three buildings on the Hill.

The new visitor center will include an expanded security screening area, which planners say will allow better access for visitors. Currently, the annual capacity of tourist groups is around 350,000 people, but the expanded control zone is expected to double that number.

The renovation began in 2018 and is expected to be completed in 2030 or 2031. The building is not expected to reopen until 2032, which will allow testing of the facilities to ensure operations are running smoothly.

The design project for the appearance of the new visitor center is expected to be finalized in fall 2025.

With the new visitor center being built under the existing structure and around the foundations of the Peace Tower, workers are currently installing hundreds of steel supports to support the building while renovations are completed.

More precise excavation work has begun to excavate the rock and earth for this visitor center, but it is expected to be a slow process. Dynamite was used to blast the rock during the main excavation, but this is no longer possible at this point.

Seismic dampers are also being installed to meet modern building standards. This work would help protect the Center Block against earthquakes of up to 6.5 magnitude.

Restorations, changes and surprises

In addition to the technical complexities, renovation is a large-scale heritage undertaking. All heritage items that can be removed from the Center Block have been stored and restored if necessary.

This means areas like the House of Commons and Senate chambers have been stripped down to their bones so restoration work can take place.

“When the building reopens, all the heritage elements will return and the building will largely look the same,” assured Louise Cowley, director of long-term vision and planning at the Senate.

It was judged that the stained glass windows of the Senate room had no heritage value, which is why M^me Cowley said a juried competition would subsequently be launched to find Canadian artists to design new ones.

The revised Senate chamber will also be arranged so that the debates can be broadcast publicly.

Making buildings fully accessible to mobility devices, such as wheelchairs, means that the number of public seats in galleries will be reduced. Before renovations began, the House of Commons could seat about 580 people, and project director Darrell de Grandmont estimates there will be 100 fewer seats once it reopens.

The seats of MPs in the House of Commons will also have to change in the future. Under heritage rules, the chamber cannot be expanded, but the number of MPs will increase by the time it reopens.

Mr. de Grandmont says some considerations include removing seats assigned to parliamentarians or eliminating desks in favor of benches, as is the case in the British parliament.

Some heritage features are being completely redone, such as the stone sculptures on the exterior of the building, which are too weathered to be restored.

Sculptor Danny Barber presented a stone bison sculpture that will be placed on the west side of the building to replace the damaged original.

Mr. Barber worked on the sculpture over the summer using hand tools and said he took great pride in bringing out the fine details of the original, such as the curls in the animal’s mane and the sheaves of wheat flanking the beast.

“It’s easy to get a little overwhelmed, so you have to break it down into smaller pieces, which forces you to really step away from the overall design,” he said. I’m very proud to work on this project, it’s not the kind of thing you often find on our workbenches. »

During the deconstruction process, the project team discovered previously hidden design elements, such as intricate stencil designs painted on the walls of the President’s Dining Room.

It was decided to incorporate these stencils into the renovation, among other changes, to capture the character of the original building.

“There are areas that had been carpeted, and this floor was the original floor at the time. It really allowed us to discover a lot of the history of the building over time, it’s really remarkable,” explained Mr. de Grandmont.

Once work is completed, the new Center Block is expected to be a fully accessible parliament with a new IT backbone integrated behind the familiar heritage façade.

Siavash Mohajer said the end goal is to make it a modern building with new additions that can last for the next 100 years.