Ottawa's former Union Station, which ceased train service in 1966, is undergoing a dramatic renovation to temporarily house the Senate of Canada. The final design for the overhaul by Toronto-based Diamond Schmitt Architects and local practice KWC Architects has been granted approval by the National Capital Commission, allowing the project to move forward in earnest. 

Rendering of the modern addition, image via Public Works and Government Services Canada

The Beaux Arts building on the Rideau Canal currently acts as the Government Conference Centre, hosting periodic gatherings of civil servants and politicians. It will find new purpose, albeit for an interim period, as the Senate Chamber while the permanent venue in Parliament Hill's Centre Block undergoes its own extensive retrofit. In addition to committee functions, the renewed facility will contain offices for Parliamentarians and their staff.

The general waiting room and entryway to committee rooms, image via Public Works and Government Services Canada

The restoration will reintroduce the building's grand public spaces, including the immaculately detailed general waiting room and concourse. The ornate columns, arches, windows and coffered ceiling are just some of the interior design features that the project seeks to return to their former glory. A new eastern face will complete the previously unfinished facade that remained following the demolition of the neighbouring Corry Building. According to Diamond Schmitt Architects, the modern addition is "informed by the geometry, proportions and materiality of the existing Beaux Arts façade." 

The interim Senate Chamber, image via Public Works and Government Services Canada

The 1912-built structure proved to be in desperate need of rehabilitation since only limited adaptations took place in the 1970s. Although the building will house most of the Senate's primary functions upon the move in 2018, some office units and auxiliary uses will need to be relocated to leased office space elsewhere in the city. When the renovations are complete, the Library of Parliament will invite the public inside for the first time in decades by conducting tours of the building. 

The concourse area will serve as the interim Senate Chamber, image via Public Works and Government Services Canada

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