Final workshops: Inspire the Iconic Features and Finishing Touches

The new Ottawa Public Library-Library and Archives Canada Joint Facility offers residents a great opportunity to contribute to a once in a generation project. Add your voice to the thousands who have inspired this exciting city building project and join us for the last design workshops on this future landmark destination. To complete the design, we want to hear your thoughts on what makes a building iconic. Registration is now open for the fourth and final Inspire555 design workshop.
At this workshop, participants will be asked to provide inspiration into the facility’s iconic features and finishing touches, such as the choices of building materials inside and outside of the facility, and the ways in which this facility can become an inclusive destination for all. In keeping with their commitment to meaningful engagement, the architects will report back on what they heard throughout the Inspire555 process, and how public input has informed the development of an iconic design.

Don’t miss this opportunity to bring your voice to this exciting project! Register now at Inspire555.ca(link is external) for one of three design workshops:

Date: Monday, November 18, 2019
Time: 6:00 p.m. – 8:30 p.m.
Place: Shenkman Arts Centre

Date: Tuesday, November 19, 2019
Time: 6:00 p.m. – 8:30 p.m.
Place: Nepean Sportsplex

Date: Wednesday, November 20, 2019
Time: 6:00 p.m. – 8:30 p.m.
Place: Library and Archives Canada, 395 Wellington Street

Canadians from coast to coast or anyone who cannot attend the workshops will be invited to provide input online at Inspire555.ca during the month of November.

The workshops and online engagement are part of a year-long local and national engagement process to inspire the design of an iconic facility destined to become an attraction for all visitors to the Capital and a community gathering place. Since February 2019, close to 3,000 people have taken part in online and in-person engagement on the new joint facility.

The Inspire555 engagement series includes design workshops, pop-up events, and online activities to inspire this new landmark destination. From Building Blocks, which focused on the site, to Spaces and Relationships, which focused on the interior, and Public Art and Landscape, which focused on the exterior, experience and sustainability, the architects have been inspired and influenced by the public’s thoughtful input. As a result, the architects are developing a design that will be truly representative of Canadian, Indigenous and local values.

Meetings and design workshops with Algonquin First Nations communities are ongoing and additional engagement activities and knowledge sharing events are being planned with local urban and national Indigenous organizations.

About the new Ottawa Public Library and Library and Archives Canada joint facility

The joint facility will become a landmark destination built on the shared values of the partner institutions. The facility will deliver a rich customer experience through the Ottawa Public Library’s Central Library and Library and Archives Canada’s public services, exhibitions and events, which showcase Canada’s heritage. The joint programming and services will make this a truly unique offering in Canada. It will be a modern, world-class facility that will respond to rapidly developing technology, growing customer expectations and changing demographics.

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