Union du Canada Building

  • Union du Canada Building looking north along Dalhousie Street

    Union du Canada Building looking north along Dalhousie Street

  • Building in context from York Street

    Building in context from York Street

  • Separation step-in to highlight shaft-capital transition

    Separation step-in to highlight shaft-capital transition

  • Looking east along York Street with building in context

    Looking east along York Street with building in context

  • Elevation detail on York Street

    Elevation detail on York Street

  • Corner of Dalhousie and York Streets highlighting commercial frontage at base

    Corner of Dalhousie and York Streets highlighting commercial frontage at base

  • Corner of Dalhousie and York Street

    Corner of Dalhousie and York Street

  • Fenestration patterning reflecting the sky in various ways

    Fenestration patterning reflecting the sky in various ways

  • Dalhousie entry

    Dalhousie entry (doors and numbers likely not original)

  • North Dalhousie stair: wood, aluminum and terrazzo

    North Dalhousie stair: wood, aluminum and terrazzo

  • North stair flanking Dalhousie office entry

    North stair flanking Dalhousie office entry

  • Precast concrete detail at columns

    Precast concrete detail at columns

Address
325 Dalhousie Street, Ottawa, ON
Region
Type
Designer
Year(s)
1966 - 2014

Demolished: 2014

The Union of Canada Building is one the tallest building in Ottawa’s Byward Market Heritage Conservation District.  When it was constructed in 1966, it became a symbol of the Union du Canada Insurance Company.  the Union of Canada, while now a historical note, played an important role for Lowertown and Franco-Ontarian groups in protecting francophone linguistic rights.

At ten storeys it would have loomed over the surrounding context, based on pure height, but the Architect made a concerted effort to the lessen the building’s overall mass  by employing a series of architectural strategies including:

  • Employing a classic base, shaft, capital arrangement
  • Using a balanced grid with bush hammered ribbed concrete broken by continuous vertical elements creating visual bays
  • Enhancing the grid by employing a varied arrangement of reflective glazing – designed by Laure Major
  • Providing an arcaded frontage at street level, largely fronted by commercial uses (retail and restaurant) along its major frontages

 

Related Resources

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