The joint facility for the Ottawa Public Library (OPL) and Library Archives Canada (LAC) has a $193-million budget and a total 216,000 square feet over five floors. It is expected to open in 2024. Targeting LEED Gold Certification, design input came from Canadians of all backgrounds coast to coast.
“The location at a cultural crossroads of a route that traces the three founding peoples – French, English and Indigenous – underscores the spirit of confluence in the building’s design and the possibilities for these memory institutions in a modern facility to advance the Canadian story,” said Donald Schmitt, Principal, Diamond Schmitt Architects.