HERITAGE OTTAWA

The Federal Study Centre at 1495 Heron Road in Alta Vista is an excellent example of a modern educational campus. It was originally commissioned in the early 1960s by the Sisters of the Congregation of Notre Dame, the first religious order founded in Canada. The complex served as a multi-faceted, religious educational faciility incorporating separate high schools for girls and boys, a convent and a novitiate.

Designed by Ottawa architect Tim Murray, the sizable complex was comprised of twelve interconnected Pavilions arranged around a chapel and four small courtyards, one each devoted to the academic, the administrative, the novitiate and the monastic. The Pavilions are characterized by a distinctive modern vocabulary of form and materials, primarily textured dark brick and bands of white concrete.

Landscape architect Peter Coe and multi-disciplinary artist Gerald Trottier also made valuable contributions to the project.

In the early 1970s the complex was acquired by the Government of Canada and became known at the Federal Study Centre. The facility was easily converted to a government training facility for civil servants, and remained in active use in that capacity for nearly 30 years. Throughout that time the architectural and historic integrity of the campus remained intact, and remains intact today.

We had the privilege of seeing this firsthand in 2013 when visiting several buildings of the campus during a tour of "Modern Ottawa" conducted for delegates attending Heritage Canada's annual conference. 

All original buildings in the Federal Study Centre are listed on the Canadian Register of Historic Places, and are designated as "Recognized" by the Federal Heritage Buildings Review Office (FHBRO) in recognition of their architectural and historic significance. 

In recent years the complex has been maintained by Public Works and Government Services Canada (PWGSC). 

Heritage Ottawa has learned of plans to transfer the Federal Study Centre from PWGSC to Canada Lands for ultimate sale. 

PWGSC assures us of its engagement with the City of Ottawa, which would have responsibility for future development approvals on the site. The City would also have the authority to seek municipal heritage designation. 

Heritage Ottawa hopes that this modernist gem can remain intact. We will continue to monitor the situation and will advocate for the  preservation and adaptive re-use of the complex.