bank-of-canada: Bank of Canada Headquarters, Ottawa, Ontario, Canada
Designed 1969
Associated Firm- Manari Rounthwaite and Dick
One of the most important city blocks in downtown Ottawa has been developed as the new headquarters of the Bank of Canada, including the renovation and integration of the original bank headquarters into the project. Of special importance was to achieve an architectural expression that would harmonized with the architectural style of the Parliament Buildings, maintain the spatial sequence of the surrounding streets, and integrate visually the old building, with the new development.
The solution was to create two 12-storey copper and reflective glass towers placed symmetrically about the existing bank building with an 80 meter high glass-enclosed garden court linking the old and new buildings. In this way, the new building embraces the old building, by being located partly inside and partly outside the glass-enclosed court; the old building has maintained its presence on the street facing Parliament Hill. The exterior and structures of the building were largely unaltered, but all interior building finishes were replaced.
Photo by Fiona Spalding-Smith
