Photos of National Arts Centre's Exterior facing Elgin Street
Dublin Core
Title
Photos of National Arts Centre's Exterior facing Elgin Street
Subject
renovation; Centre national des arts; National Arts Centre; rue Elgin; Elgin Street
Description
When the National Arts Centre was originally in its design stages, the Diefenbaker government had proposed a large museum to be built on the land adjacent to the south. Hamilton Southam and his team imagined that the Confederation Square site on which the building sits had the potential to become a cultural hub for the nation's capital city. The NAC was thus designed to face the historic Rideau Canal and a massive man-made lagoon.
Diefenbaker's museum project never came to fruition, as it was cancelled by the new Liberal government under Pierre Elliott Trudeau. The land where it was to be built sits empty to this day. "The effect of the [building's] orientation was to essentially cut the NAC off from Confederation Square, one of the most important public places in the capital and country."
The building renewal project sought to rectify this issue and build a grand entrance that would open up the building to the Elgin Street side.
The project includes "a hexagonal tower of glass and steel. The entrance will be on Elgin and will connect with the mezzanine of Southam Hall. The glass can display high-definition still images, video or even live NAC performances."
Photo 1 displays the Elgin Street entrance under constructions from May 2017.
Photo 2 displays the completed from entrance from December 2017.
Peter Robb, "NAC faces front with new entrance on Confederation Square: Feds invest $110 M," The Ottawa Citizen, 11 December 2014. Retrieved from https://ottawacitizen.com/entertainment/local-arts/nac-expected-to-get-a-new-look/.
Diefenbaker's museum project never came to fruition, as it was cancelled by the new Liberal government under Pierre Elliott Trudeau. The land where it was to be built sits empty to this day. "The effect of the [building's] orientation was to essentially cut the NAC off from Confederation Square, one of the most important public places in the capital and country."
The building renewal project sought to rectify this issue and build a grand entrance that would open up the building to the Elgin Street side.
The project includes "a hexagonal tower of glass and steel. The entrance will be on Elgin and will connect with the mezzanine of Southam Hall. The glass can display high-definition still images, video or even live NAC performances."
Photo 1 displays the Elgin Street entrance under constructions from May 2017.
Photo 2 displays the completed from entrance from December 2017.
Peter Robb, "NAC faces front with new entrance on Confederation Square: Feds invest $110 M," The Ottawa Citizen, 11 December 2014. Retrieved from https://ottawacitizen.com/entertainment/local-arts/nac-expected-to-get-a-new-look/.
Creator
Grogan, Roy
Bounhar, Younes (Doubleppace Photo)
Source
National Arts Centre, Ottawa, Ontario, Canada. Photos available on the NAC's Flickr page: https://flic.kr/s/aHskAX4rqv.
Item catalogued by Dr. Jada E. Watson, University of Ottawa.
Item catalogued by Dr. Jada E. Watson, University of Ottawa.
Publisher
National Arts Centre
Date
2017-03-17
2017-12-16
Rights
Copyright © National Arts Centre and Roy Grogan. Used with permission.
Identifier
UO-LC-NAC-Elgin-Exterior-Construction
Coverage
Photos taken in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada.
Citation
Grogan, Roy and Bounhar, Younes (Doubleppace Photo), “Photos of National Arts Centre's Exterior facing Elgin Street,” Linking Culture(s), accessed May 19, 2024, http://omeka.uottawa.ca/linking-cultures/items/show/221.