Existing Building Upgrade Award | Perkins+Will

Jury comments: This major rehabilitation and revitalization project, driven by quantitative issues of obsolete infrastructure, poor energy performance and related carbon impacts, and an outdated working environment, has been addressed with aesthetic sensitivity and restraint. Innovative structural upgrades enabled the restoration of the integrity of this 1970s office tower by Arthur Erickson,  while the 1930s centre building and its immediate surroundings  have been transformed into valuable new public amenities.

Located just west of Parliament Hill in Downtown Ottawa, the Bank of Canada Head Office complex comprises 79,500m² of offices and operation spaces. The original Centre Building was built in the 1930s; the twin office towers and connecting atrium being added in the 1970s. Completed in 2017, this project included the comprehensive renewal of the existing complex, including some reconfigurations and additions to the program.

A new museum invites and educates the community about the Bank’s role in the Canadian economy. The pyramidal glass entrance pavilion and the enhanced public realm that surrounds it form an abstraction of the Canadian landscape and functions as an accessible, multi-faceted public realm throughout the year.

Major drivers for renewal were the performance and infrastructure deficits of the facility, energy upgrades and carbon reductions, and modernization of the workplace. Within the towers, floor plates and waffle slab ceilings were restored to their original open plan concept.

The renovated towers were designed to be modular, allowing for a diverse range of uses so that each contains a combination of private and collaborative spaces.

The Centre Building accommodates both offices and conference facilities, while the atrium provides a variety of social spaces.

The design looked to maintain as much of the existing building infrastructure as possible, to lower both costs and negative environmental impact. Passive design strategies include revealing floorplates, allowing for deeper daylight penetration and greater access to views to the exterior and atrium.

PROJECT CREDITS

• Client:  Bank of Canada
• Architecture/Interior Team: Perkins + Will
• Civil Engineer: Novatech Engineering Consultants
• Electrical/Mechanical Engineer: BPA Engineering Consultants
• Structural Engineer:  Adjeleian Allen Rubeli Limited
• Project Manager:  CBRE Limited/Project Management Canada
• General Contractor:  PCL Constructors Canada Inc.
• Landscape Architect:  DTAH
• Food Service/Commissioning Agent:  WSP
• Heritage Consultant : Evoq Architecture
• Building Envelope:  ZEC Consulting
• Building Science: CLEB
• Sustainability Consulting Team:  Perkins + Will
• Security:  LEA
• A/V:  Engineering Harmonics
• Acoustic:  HGC
• Cost Consultant:  Turner & Townsend
• Lighting:  Gabriel MacKinnon/Perkins + Will
• Code & Life Safety:  Morrison Hershfield
• Photos:  Younes Bounhar

PROJECT PERFORMANCE

• Energy intensity = 183 kWh/m² /year
• Energy savings relative to reference building = 44%
• Water consumption = 4,645L/occupant/year (based on 250 days operation)
• Water savings relative to reference building = 35%

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