The International Council of Monuments and Sites (ICOMOS), an advisory body to UNESCO’s World Heritage Committee, has a network of 10,000+ professionals worldwide. Established over 50 years ago, ICOMOS’ trajectory has produced a philosophical and doctrinal framework for protecting heritage on an international level. The resulting achievements have offered great opportunities, but also many challenges. Conflict, climate disasters, development pressures, and now the pandemic are threatening the overall integrity of cultural heritage in ways never seen before. ICOMOS is striving to offer technical expertise independently that is in keeping with the ethical rules that could mitigate these threats.

From communities reacting to health and safety measures, to findings about unmarked graves on former Indigenous Residential School properties, schools have been in the news across Canada. 

This Emerging Scholars lecture presents the impressive project results of a winter 2020 graduate seminar on heritage conservation at Carleton University. Ten students collaborated on case studies and thematic essays to examine conservation issues, successes, and losses of Ottawa’s school heritage. With help from a Heritage Ottawa Gordon Cullingham Research Grant, professor Susan Ross and student Micah Norris further developed and transformed the results into the Ottawa School Heritage website. 

The class project looked as much at pressures for change, such as growth, urban renewal and closures, as at achievements, including cases of ongoing use or adaptation, or site improvements to meet new goals. 

A timely lecture that you won't want to miss! Federal plans are underway to demolish this iconic interprovincial link. Although the bridge was designated a national historic civil engineering site in 1995, the recognition affords no legal protection.

This two-part lecture begins with David Jeanes and the history of the Alexandra Bridge: the progress of its construction from 1898 to 1901, the rationale behind the selection of the cantilevered design to meet the unique requirements of this crossing of the Ottawa River, its ranking among other cantilevered bridges in Canada and elsewhere, and its conversion from a railway and streetcar bridge to a road, cycling and pedestrian crossing after 1966.

In the second part of the lecture John Zvonar looks at the role bridges play in our collective consciousness — the Ironbridge, the Firth of Forth, the Brooklyn Bridge, the Golden Gate — and presents case studies of relevant community-driven campaigns to preserve historic bridges: the Chapel Bridge in Switzerland, the Bennerley Viaduct in central England, and within Canada, the rehabilitation of the wooden Kinsol Trestle on Vancouver Island, and the repair and reconstruction of the Kettle Valley Steam Railway in the Okanagan Valley. Closer to home, the story of the Bank Street Bridge, which was fully restored and not replaced with a contemporary structure, will be examined. 

This special lecture takes us outside Canada to look at how the Bauhaus — founded over 100 years ago — spread internationally and in particular, how it took root in Tel Aviv under the British Mandate in Palestine.

The White City area of Tel Aviv, constructed mainly in the 1920s and 1930s, is now a UNESCO World Heritage Site, designated for its “outstanding architectural ensemble of the Modern Movement in a new cultural context.”

The presentation will introduce the pioneering architects who brought modernist ideals from Europe and adapted them to climate, topography and social structures, helping to ensure the style’s success while reflecting modernist aspirations of a new architecture for a future nation.

The use of local materials, the creative use of balconies, and adherence to the innovative urban planning principles of Sir Patrick Geddes, one of the foremost theorists in the early modern period, all contributed to a sustainable outcome which has permanently shaped Tel Aviv’s urban life and streetscapes.

CLIQUEZ ICI pour la version française. 

Presented in partnership with Muséoparc Vanier.

This French-language presentation will explore issues related to re-development of the neighbourhood of Vanier, and provide a better understanding of the spirit of the times from which these issues emanated. The presentation will examine the roots of the neighbourhood and the announced projects in coming years, and provide insights as to how the current transformations will influence the neighbourhood over the next decades.

This lecture will be presented in French with questions being answered in both French and English.

How did an architectural style synonymous with medieval Europe become the style of choice in nineteenth- and early twentieth-century Canada?

This illustrated talk will take us on a journey that begins in the Middle Ages, dips into the popular horror novels of the eighteenth century, crashes into the windswept, rocky coasts of Newfoundland and ends up in downtown Ottawa. The thread that links all these is an idea of “Gothic” that, while inspired by the Middle Ages, is constantly evolving, re-imagined and re-built.

One of the architectural gems of the nation, now a jewel in the crown of the National Gallery of Canada, is the Rideau Street Convent Chapel. A captivating space, its rows of delicate columns support intricately carved and painted fan vaults, the only such set of fan vaults in Canada. Its extraordinary design is the work of its brilliant architect, Georges Bouillon, and due in no small measure to the superb craftsmanship of the woodworkers and painters who executed his unique design.

The origins of this space, how it was saved from demolition, how it came to reside in the National Gallery, and what this saga of near-disaster and survival has to say about heritage protection in this country are the subjects of the presentation.

Who saved this chapel, and why? What does it represent to us today? Why does this kind of destruction of an historic complex like the Rideau Street Convent happen again and in Canada?

Built in 1927 as the headquarters of the Metropolitan Life Insurance Company, 180 Wellington Building’s most stunning feature is the dramatic mosaic on the vaulted ceiling inside the main entrance. Created by American muralist Barry Faulkner in 1927, the mosaic depicts “The Great Metropolitan Mother” protecting the insurer’s policy-holders. Acquired by the federal government in 1973, the major six-year rehabilitation of the building that began in 2010, included the restoration of the artistic mosaic and its nearly one million coloured tiles of glass. 

This talk looks at the refurbishment, renovation and historical preservation of the ground floor of Algonquin College’s “B” Building. Built in the 1960s, “B” Building boasts defining, historically significant Brutalist characteristics which play an integral role in the proposed campus rejuvenation. Complimenting the Brutalist technique with equally introspective design can result in a building with a past, present, and future.

Speakeasy Gallery: Interactive Design to Enhance Young Adult’s Art Gallery Experience

With young adults’ social media interest in mind, The Speakeasy Gallery demonstrates an innovative, technological approach to gallery design. Located in Montreal, QC, the project incorporates color theory, natural elements, and imagination within a re-purposed 19th century textile factory.

During the mid-20th century, Ottawa homebuilders introduced modern design to tract housing.

Some embraced the modern ethos wholeheartedly, while others sprinkled touches of it throughout their developments.  These houses made modern architecture accessible and in many ways, made it a part of mainstream culture in the city.

Although developers of Ottawa’s apartment buildings are less well-known than the architects who designed them—after all, it is a building’s appearance that endures—it was these local entrepreneurs who chose the architects, hired the contractors and took the financial risks.

This lecture looks at some of the most important apartment building developers in Ottawa and how they shaped (and reshaped) the residential landscape over the decades. Find out who they were, and what they accomplished, from the construction of the city’s first apartments at the turn of the 20th century through to the present.

The architecture of the Modernist movement once spoke of the future. Now the buildings of the 1950s, ‘60s and ‘70s are past middle age. They need work — and a critical look. This problem of modern preservation is acutely important for Canada, which built many of its public buildings, schools and cultural facilities during the Modern period. How do we reconsider these places today? And what tools can we use to adapt them for the future?

O.J. and Isobel Firestone were passionate collectors of Canadian art.  In the early 1950s, they embarked upon a collection that would grow to more than 1,600 works by noted Canadian artists, spanning the modern era from 1890 to 1985.

To complement their growing art collection, in 1960 Dr. Firestone worked with architects Sam Gitterman and George Bemi to design a landmark modernist home for his family in Ottawa’s Rockcliffe Park.  Both the home and collection were generously donated by the Firestones to the Ontario Heritage Trust, (then the Ontario Heritge Foundation) which in 1992 transferred ownership to the City of Ottawa.

Today, the Firestone Collection of Canadian Art is permanently housed at the new Ottawa Art Gallery (OAG).  While the family home no longer stands, its original modernist staircase is installed in the OAG where it leads, poetically, to the Firestone Gallery.

Join us for an evening with Brenda Firestone as she shares stories about the history of her family’s home and significant collection of Canadian artworks.

The talk will conclude with an opportunity to visit the Firestone Gallery and converse with Ms. Firestone.

The Jackson café will be open for drinks and light refreshments.

The department store was the product of an increasingly leisured middle class, a new consumer economy, and architectural innovations like plate glass windows, electric lights and passenger elevators. In comparison to the great metropolitan centres, Ottawa’s fondly remembered versions of these emporia of wonders were smaller in scale, but equally ambitious and great objects of civic pride.

To warm your holiday gift buying experience, visit stores like A.E. Rea and Co., R.J. Devlin Co., Bryson Graham Ltd., Murphy-Gamble Co., Charles Ogilvy Ltd., and A.J. Freiman’s.

This seasonal event will be held at the special venue of Dominion-Chalmers United Church.

We invite you to join us for refreshments. The book will be available for purchase at the lecture.

The federal government, proud steward of many national historic sites and other designated heritage properties, has an important role to play in the preservation of Canada’s built heritage and historic places. MP John Aldag will discuss initiatives being considered and undertaken at the federal level, including through Parliament, and their implications for our heritage.


PHOTO: Cover of Preserving Canada's Heritage: The Foundation of Tomorrow

From the European guilds of the Gothic era to modern day digitally assisted techniques, John-Philippe Smith will discuss the history of stone carving as well as tales from his journey working as a sculptor in Canada and in France.

We have all seen the problem. City Council-approved Official Plans, Neighbourhood Plans and Heritage Conservation District Guidelines – developed to safeguard communities’ criteria for density and building heights – are successfully challenged by property developers at the Ontario Municipal Board.  The four-storey height limit on a neighbourhood main street is rezoned to allow for a 10-storey building, or a large lot that contributes to the heritage character of a HCD is approved for subdivision.

To say that the workings of the OMB have been controversial is an understatement. Now it is set for revision. Will Ontario finally get heritage planning right?

Join Attorney General Yasir Naqvi, former OMB adjudicator and advocate Marc Denhez, and community activist Jay Baltz for an evening of discussion on new directions for the Ontario Municipal Board and its replacement Tribunal.

AND AFTER: The Consequences of World War 1

In commemoration of the centenary of the First World War,  joint Canada-France symposiums were held in the National Assembly in Paris last May and the Senate in Ottawa last November.  The symposiums gave participants the opportunity to reassess the defining impact the War of 1914-1918 had on Canada, its Parliament, its institutions, its people and its economy.  The outcome saw the publication of a book, Le Canada et la France dans la Grande Guerre, 1914-1918, co-edited by Senator Serge Joyal and military historian Serge Bernier.

This talk will explore how a group of young, politically savvy architects promoted modern architecture across Canada and in the Ottawa region during the 1940s through articles, radio addresses, and exhibitions.