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
Cultural Facilities | Jun 30, 2016
Tod Williams Billie Tsien Architects selected to design Obama Presidential Center in Chicago
With experience designing cultural and academic facilities, Williams and Tsien got the nod over other search finalists like Renzo Piano, SHoP, and Adjaye Associates.
Building Team Awards | May 19, 2016
Chinatown library unites and serves two emerging Chicago neighborhoods
The 16,000-sf, pebble-shaped Chinatown Branch Library was built at the intersection of new and old Chinatown neighborhoods. The goal is for the building to unite the communities and serve as a catalyst for the developing area.
Libraries | Apr 21, 2016
New renderings released for Herzog & de Meuron’s National Library of Israel
The library is based around the light well in the center of a concave roof, a feature that will illuminate the spacious second story and the ground level.
Libraries | Apr 18, 2016
Best in Library Design: AIA names seven projects 2016 Library Building Awards winners
Snøhetta’s Ryerson University student center and the Billings (Mont.) Public Library by Will Bruder+Partners highlight the seven winning projects.
Libraries | Jan 26, 2016
Snøhetta designs research library at Temple University
The firm emphasized collaborative spaces, but the library will have room for plenty of books as well.
| Jan 14, 2016
How to succeed with EIFS: exterior insulation and finish systems
This AIA CES Discovery course discusses the six elements of an EIFS wall assembly; common EIFS failures and how to prevent them; and EIFS and sustainability.
Libraries | Aug 27, 2015
Barack Obama Foundation begins search for presidential library architect
Both national and foreign firms will compete for chance to design the Chicago-based Presidential Center.
Libraries | Apr 29, 2015
Designs for earthquake-resistant New Central Library in New Zealand unveiled
The Danish firm Schmidt Hammer Lassen Architects won the competition to design the New Central Library in Christchurch, New Zealand, which will replace the old building damaged by devastating earthquakes in 2010 and 2011.
Cultural Facilities | Apr 7, 2015
Mies’ Martin Luther King Jr. Library to get makeover
The architects say the modernization aims to improve “Mies in a contemporary Miesian way.”
Libraries | Apr 2, 2015
6 award-winning libraries showcase next-gen design strategies
The new Cedar Rapids Public Library and the restored Slover Library in Norfolk, Va., are among six breakthrough projects honored with 2015 AIA/ALA Library Building Awards.
