NCC Completes Rehabilitation of Historic Rochon Residence

Photo: Alistair Steele / CBC

Monday, February 28, 2022

HERITAGE OTTAWA

Heritage Ottawa is pleased to report that the National Capital Commission (NCC) has successfully completed the rehabilitation of the historic Rochon Residence at 138 St. Patrick Street as part of its new Capital Culture Lives Here program.

Artists-in-Residence

The NCC is partnering with the artist-run centre SAW that operates a number of residency programs, including Nordic Lab, which provides a research and production space for artists from circumpolar nations, and educational programs geared toward Indigenous youth. The NCC sees the program connecting well with its role of caring for and protecting historic buildings, landscapes and public places in the nation's capital.

Heritage Ottawa was pleased to participate in an NCC-led workshop last spring to consider a possible new cultural use for the restored building. The resulting artist-in-residence initiative reanimates a federal heritage building while also connecting people with arts and culture through partnerships with cultural organizations.

Rehabilitation Work

The Rochon Residence rehabilitation project, included interior renovation, structural restoration and reinforcement, and removal and reinstatement of exterior cladding aimed at protecting and preserving the building’s heritage components.

Built in 1832 of squared timbers, the two-bedroom house is a rare surviving example of a typical Lowertown house of the early 19th century and is a federally recognized heritage building. It was the home of Flavien Rochon, a woodcarver known to have carved the stalls and sanctuary of Notre-Dame Cathedral in 1844. The Rochon Residence was acquired by the NCC in 1965 as part of a larger plan to preserve the historic area.

“The sun in the late evening just comes pouring through the windows and bathes everything in this beautiful orange gold, and you see all the old wood just light up with colour,” Jen Halsall, the NCC’s manager of residential construction, told the CBC. “This house is in many ways reflective of the melting and blending ground that Lowertown was as well. So who’s to say what the inspiration will be and what form it’s going to take, but the hope is this little house is going to have a beautiful artistic impact in some way.”