Ottawa Citizen: Heritage Ottawa "hates" the new Château Laurier design

Rendering: Dennis Jacobs, MomentumPlan.com

Wednesday, March 7, 2018

OTTAWA CITIZEN, By Jon Willing

The city’s volunteer advocacy group for heritage protection hates the latest design for the Château Laurier addition, but the planner overseeing the development is confident in the architectural vision.

“They’re going to put an addition on one of Canada’s foremost buildings. What they’re proposing is completely inappropriate,” Heritage Ottawa co-chair Leslie Maitland said in an interview Wednesday. “It has all the charm of a box store.”

Larco Investments, the owner of the historic hotel at 1 Rideau St., released a new concept in February after previous design proposals were met with tepid response. The company celebrated a smaller proposed addition that features design elements from the landmark 106-year-old hotel. The eight-storey, glassy addition backing onto Major’s Hill Park would take the place of the parking garage.

Dennis Jacobs, Larco’s planning consultant, said the company’s development team believes it’s a good design.

“I think they (Heritage Ottawa) have their own approach. They are seeking a certain style or a certain approach to the design,” Jacobs said. “We’re coming at it from a different angle.”

Heritage Ottawa, which has slammed previous iterations of the proposed addition, is telling city hall to reject the latest design. The city’s heritage staff will analyze the concept before making a recommendation to the built-heritage subcommittee.

Maitland said Heritage Ottawa scrutinized the concepts over the past four weeks before writing a critique of the designs.

The review is a scorcher.

“To say that Heritage Ottawa is dismayed is an understatement,” the review says. “If allowed to proceed, the proposed alterations will forever compromise this significant heritage building, its prominent site, and iconic views in the heart of our nation’s capital.”

The group likes that Larco has reduced the height of the proposed addition to eight storeys from 12 and 11 storeys, but the compliments end there.

According to Heritage Ottawa, the suggested design materials wouldn’t blend with the existing hotel, and the box-like shape and near-symmetry “are entirely incompatible with the Château Laurier’s picturesque character and romantic sensibility.” The views to key locations, such as Parliament Hill, the Rideau Canal and Major’s Hill Park, would be sullied by the proposed addition as it’s currently designed, Heritage Ottawa says.

Maitland said there have been other property owners in downtown Ottawa who were able to design good additions for historic buildings. She cited as one example the additions on the Lord Elgin Hotel on Elgin Street.

The proposed addition for the Château Laurier looks out of context, according to Maitland.

“They could just do better,” she said.

Jacobs said the intent of the proposed addition is to be complementary and subordinate to the hotel. There probably won’t be big changes to the massing of the addition, but there might be tweaks to the exterior architectural features, Jacobs said. For example, there’s lots of demand for more stone to be visible at the base of the building.

There’s still time for Larco to consider design changes before a report goes to the built-heritage subcommittee, which has a preliminary date of May 10 to consider the application. The subcommittee’s decision would rise to meetings of the planning committee and city council, potentially all by the end of May.

Larco also needs approval from the National Capital Commission board of directors.

The city hosted an open house last week and is collecting feedback on the design until Friday. A model of the design remains in the rotunda at city hall and people can fill out comment forms.

Jacobs said fewer comments have come into the city compared to consultations on previous iterations of the hotel addition. He’s feeling positive about the lighter pushback.

“I would say much less antagonism, is the best way to put it, than the first design that came out,” Jacobs said.

 

Read Heritage Ottawa's complete position statement on the proposed Château Laurier addition here.

Read Heritage Ottawa's Call to Action statement here.


Your Voice Matters!

The City of Ottawa is seeking public reaction to the proposed Château Laurier addition.

Heritage Ottawa encourages all concerned citizens to review the proposal drawings and to

complete the city's Online Feedback Form before Friday, March 9

to make your views known.

Your actions can help to preserve the integrity of this important heritage building. Thank you.