Following an international design competition, the Canadian Ministry of Public Services and Procurement has announced that the scheme designed by David Chipperfield Architects and Zeidler for Block 2 of Canada’s Parliamentary Precinct in Ottawa has been selected as the competition Laureate.
The urban block – which encompasses eleven buildings – will be redeveloped to provide office space for the Senate and the House of Commons and allow for the future consolidation of parliamentary accommodations, including space for the Library of Parliament. As a site of national importance, the project carries an additional responsibility to represent the values of a nation and a vision for its future.
The proposal embraces complex issues of sustainability, heritage, indigeneity and diversity. It retains most of the existing structures and combines them with new low-carbon, efficient buildings to create a diverse, characterful, yet coherent whole.