Built Heritage Sub-Committee

WHEREAS City Council adopted the Parks Canada’s document “Standards and Guidelines for the Conservation of Historic Places in Canada” in 2008; WHEREAS Standard 11 of that document states that additions must be “physically and visually compatible with, subordinate to, and distinguishable from the historic place”; WHEREAS “compatible” is generally agreed to mean “able to exist or work together without conflict”; WHEREAS the proposed addition is not sufficiently visually compatible with the Chateau Laurier, a historic place; and, WHEREAS additional modifications to the design of the proposed addition are necessary to ensure its visual compatibility with the existing Chateau Laurier, an iconic heritage landmark in the City of Ottawa and the National Capital; THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED that Recommendation 1 be amended to state that the application be approved on the following conditions: That staff be directed to work with the applicant to make the proposed addition more visually compatible with the existing Chateau Laurier, prior to site plan approval, by: Meaningfully increasing the use of Indiana limestone cladding on the building exterior to reduce its contrast and enhance its bond with the existing building; Modifying the addition by sculpting, recessing, and breaking up the unrelieved uniformity of the north façade using elements and forms that are specifically drawn from, and relate to, the existing Chateau Laurier’s rich palette of forms; Altering the architectural expressio