OTTAWA –
More than four years after MPs moved out of Center Block on Parliament Hill for the decade-long renovation to the historic building, journalists got a behind-the-scenes look at the project’s progress Thursday.
The massive project is slated to run until 2031, costing between $4.5 and $5 billion, and is on track to be completed on time.
“This is the largest heritage rehabilitation project that’s ever taken place in Canada,” said Public Services and Procurement Canada assistant deputy minister Rob Wright on the tour.
“We have to balance restoring the heritage with universal accessibility, with sustainability, with meeting modern requirements of Parliament, and creating greater access for Canadians, and creating a more secure environment,” he added. “That’s a tall order”
Protective plywood covers the much of the Hall of Honor, seen during a media tour of the project on Parliament Hill in Ottawa, on Thursday, June 6, 2023. CTV NEWS/Rachel Swatek
The original Center Block building is being completely overhauled, with heritage and art elements carefully removed for restoration, while the core of the building undergoes a thorough upgrade.
Those include a seismic retrofit, removal of 23-million pounds of material containing asbestos, and a major excavation process to create new square footage underground. The excavation is also extending into a new visitors’ welcome center in front of the building.
Extensive work is underway for a seismic retrofit of the building, with the intention of preserving Parliament in the event of an earthquake. Work seen here during a media tour of the project on Parliament Hill in Ottawa, on Thursday, June 6, 2023. CTV NEWS/Rachel Swatek
Wright said the conservation of heritage assets, asbestos abatement and the mass excavation were the first phase of the construction process, which is now nearing completion.
Phase two of the project has already started, and involves upgrading the building itself, which previously only met about 30 per cent of modern seismic codes, and 25 per cent of modern fire codes.
Center Block renovation by the numbers:
- More than 20,000 heritage assets, including stained glass windows, sculptures and more are being removed and stored.
- 200,000 artifacts uncovered on site
- 40,000 truckloads of bedrock removed, in the “mass excavation”
- More than 450 construction personnel working daily
- More than 70,000 jobs the government estimates will be created by the project
Center Block’s intricately carved rotunda is being protected as construction continues all around it, seen during a media tour of the project on Parliament Hill in Ottawa, on Thursday, June 6, 2023. CTV NEWS/Rachel Swatek
The building is also filled with Canadian art, from unique carvings to stained glass, which is overseen by the dominion sculptor of Canada.
Canada’s current dominion sculptor, John Philippe Smith, is working with a small team to rebuild or repair about 40 pieces of decorative work for this project. He will then get to put his own touch on the building, returning to the stones that remain uncarved throughout the Center Block.
However, some pieces are so damaged the team will need to rebuild or recreate them entirely by studying the disintegrating sculptures to carve new versions based on what Smith can decipher from the remaining structure.
Approximately 40 pieces of sculpted stone need to be repaired as part of the renovation project, some pictured here during a media tour of Center Block renovations on Parliament Hill in Ottawa, on Thursday, June 6, 2023. CTV NEWS/Rachel Swatek
A pane of stained glass set to be restored as part of the Center Block renovations, seen during a media tour of the project on Parliament Hill in Ottawa, on Thursday, June 6, 2023. CTV NEWS/Rachel Swatek
The third phase of the project will be putting it all back together: bringing in new mechanical equipment, new technology for Parliament, and reapplying the heritage and art pieces that were removed for restoration and safekeeping during the renovation.
All of Center Block’s 250 stained glass windows are also being restored — some with more than 100 panels — by re-leading each individual panel with a stronger alloy to preserve the art pieces.
Despite the massive scale of this renovation, the familiar public spaces of the building will look largely the same as they did before Center Block closed in 2018.
Delicate materials are being carefully removed for protection and reconstruction while the construction project continues, seen during a media tour of the project on Parliament Hill in Ottawa, on Thursday, June 6, 2023. CTV NEWS/Rachel Swatek
Delicate heritage pieces have been temporarily removed or protected, so that historic spaces can be put back together once construction is completed, while the design team has worked to minimize noticeable changes to the building’s iconic facade.
Those with a particularly keen eye will notice part of the roof being raised by 4.5 meters, and once the lawn is replaced over the new visitor center — currently a gigantic pit — there will actually be a little extra green space.
The current state of the entrance typically reserved for Members of Parliament, seen during a media tour of the project on Parliament Hill in Ottawa, on Thursday, June 6, 2023. CTV NEWS/Rachel Swatek
Center Block’s intricately carved rotunda is being protected as construction continues all around it, seen during a media tour of the project on Parliament Hill in Ottawa, on Thursday, June 6, 2023. CTV NEWS/Rachel Swatek
The House of Commons has since been stripped back, with the chairs for all 338 MPs removed as restoration and renovation work continues. The design team is maintaining the square footage of the room itself, but will have to squeeze in extra seating, as Canada is expected to have an additional five MPs by the time Parliament is back in Center Block.
Parliament Hill’s new visitor center will include a public cafeteria, gift shop, exhibit space run by the Library of Parliament, and a multipurpose classroom space for tours, among other features. Allowing the Library of Parliament, which oversees tours to double the number of visitors they can accommodate each year.
It will also allow Parliament Hill security to screen visitors before they enter the building.
Wright compared the old system of screening visitors once they were already inside Center Block to screening air travelers once they were already on the plane.
Those visitors will also have a new entrance, coming in through the underground center before entering the Center Block through covered courtyards that were previously unused.
A three-story addition will be built on top of the famous Hall of Honor to create common space for MPs and Senators to meet, seen during a media tour of the project on Parliament Hill in Ottawa, on Thursday, June 6, 2023. CTV NEWS/Rachel Swatek
Center Block’s under-construction west courtyard, seen from the roof during a media tour of Center Block renovations on Parliament Hill in Ottawa, on Thursday, June 6, 2023. CTV NEWS/Rachel Swatek