When it opens in 2026, Ādisōke is expected to be one of the largest library and archive facilities in the world.
With work now underway, the 216,000-square-foot, $326 million facility will house the Ottawa Public Library’s new central branch as well as Canada’s national library and archives. Ādisōke will offer free and open access to millions of documents and Canada’s documentary heritage. It will be the first new building in the Parliamentary District in nearly 30 years.
The design by Diamond Schmitt joins the two spaces with an expansive public forum that provides visitors with various services, exhibitions, and meeting spaces. The design references Ottawa’s heritage and natural terrain. The use of Ontario limestone to clad the building echoes the slopes along the site’s adjacent canals, and wood is used both structurally and aesthetically. The facility’s curvilinear roof reflects the flow of the Kichi Sipi Ottawa River.
Diamond Schmitt’s design is the result of an in-depth engagement process that foregrounded Indigenous stories and histories, as well as Canadian heritage. After researching the facility’s site—a historical meeting place for the Anishinābe Algonquin people—the Ādisōke Project Team recognized the need to engage both the people of Ottawa and the region’s Indigenous communities from the start. Elders and members of the land’s Host Nation named the site Ādisōke, an Anishinābemowin word that refers to storytelling. More than 7,000 people—including residents, Indigenous peoples, and Canadians from coast to coast to coast—have contributed to the engagement process.
“From the moment we began collaborating with the Ādisōke Project Team, the public, and Indigenous communities on this design, our work has been guided by the communities it serves,” Gary McCluskie, principal, Diamond Schmitt, said in the statement.
The five-story, fully accessible facility is also on track to reach net zero carbon emissions—the first public building of its kind in Canada, according to a press statement. In a joint venture with Ottawa-based KWC Architects, Diamond Schmitt designed the interior and exterior with advanced energy saving systems, a green roof, and strategically located skylights.
On the Building Team:
Design architect and architect of record: Diamond Schmitt Architects
MEP engineer: Arup
Structural engineer: Fast + Epp
General contractor/construction manager: PCL
Related Stories
| Aug 11, 2010
Harvard Public Library
Harvard, Mass.
Five years ago, the town of Harvard, Mass., which lies about 30 miles west of Boston, faced two problems. First, its iconic public schoolhouse, known as Old Bromfield, which was built in 1877, had become outdated. So, too, had its public library, which had no room to grow on its site.
| Aug 11, 2010
Gilbane, Whiting-Turner among nation's largest university contractors, according to BD+C's Giants 300 report
A ranking of the Top 50 University Contractors based on Building Design+Construction's 2009 Giants 300 survey. For more Giants 300 rankings, visit /giants
| Aug 11, 2010
AASHE releases annual review of sustainability in higher education
The Association for the Advancement of Sustainability in Higher Education (AASHE) has announced the release of AASHE Digest 2008, which documents the continued rapid growth of campus sustainability in the U.S. and Canada. The 356-page report, available as a free download on the AASHE website, includes over 1,350 stories that appeared in the weekly AASHE Bulletin last year.
| Aug 11, 2010
Burt Hill, HOK top BD+C's ranking of the nation's 100 largest university design firms
A ranking of the Top 100 University Design Firms based on Building Design+Construction's 2009 Giants 300 survey. For more Giants 300 rankings, visit http://www.BDCnetwork.com/Giants
| Aug 11, 2010
Jacobs, HDR top BD+C's ranking of the nation's 100 largest institutional building design firms
A ranking of the Top 100 Institutional Design Firms based on Building Design+Construction's 2009 Giants 300 survey. For more Giants 300 rankings, visit http://www.BDCnetwork.com/Giants
| Aug 11, 2010
College uses renewable materials in new library
A 93,000-sf Library and Academic Resource Center will replace Los Angeles Valley College's 1960s-vintage library. Pfeiffer Partners Architects designed the building to be consistent with the college's master plan, with its learning clusters and arcade circulation system. To obtain LEED certification, the center will use recycled and renewable materials, such as bamboo.
| Aug 11, 2010
Northeast Lakeview College opens in Texas, to serve 15,000 students
After four years of construction, Northeast Lakeview College, the newest addition to Alamo Colleges, is complete. Designed by Overland Partners Architects in collaboration with Ford Powell & Carson, the nine-building, 285-acre campus in Universal City, near San Antonio, will serve up to 15,000 students.
