Canadian Parliament East Block Phase 1

Architect

Architecture 49
Montréal, Quebec

Architect

DFS
Montréal, Quebec

General Contractor

Pomerleau Construction
Ottawa, Ontario

The East Block of the Canadian Parliament, in Ottawa, Ontario, is the most intact of Parliament Hill's heritage buildings. It stands as one of the most protected buildings in Canada, being both a federally designated Heritage building and a historical architectural landmark in Canada. It is also one of the world's finest examples of High Victorian Gothic architecture. The Government of Canada built the East Block in two major periods. The first portion was completed in 1865, and a second wing was added in 1910.

As part of this restoration project, sheet metal contractor Heather & Little first produced a detailed report on the condition of the two towers and the porte cochere to ensure that the new copper roof would match the existing roofing elements. They then performed restoration work on the South West Tower, South East Tower, the Governor Generals Entrance, the Wellington Entrance, and the porte cochere, replicating roofing on these areas with new copper. This scope of work included manufacturing and installing batten-seam copper roofing at the peak of the towers and standing-seam copper roofing on the remaining roof elements. Where necessary, the team altered aspects of the existing roof to improve its water-shedding capabilities and overall performance without compromising historical accuracy.

At the Wellington and Governor General’s entrance, the team used oxidized copper to tie into existing roofing elements. They also removed original standing-seam panels to allow for structural and masonry work, replacing them with new factory-patinated copper seamed to the adjacent existing historic copper roof panels. The end result? A modernized copper roof that pays homage to the history of this Canadian architectural landmark.