Previous winners

The Ottawa Heritage Awards were held on February 21, 2023 at the Bytowne Cinema. The presentations were for projects completed from 2019 to 2022. These biennial awards recognize outstanding contributions to the restoration and conservation of Ottawa’s heritage properties.

Award of Excellence: Government

Postal Station B
59 Sparks Street

Postal Station B is a designated Classified federal heritage building and part of the Confederation Square National Historic Site. It was designed by noted Architect W.E. Noffke and was constructed between 1938 and 1939 as part of the Confederation Square redevelopment. It was crucial in redesigning the eastern end of Ottawa’s central business district to become the main center for delivering all postal services for the downtown core. The exterior rehabilitation project followed a primarily minimal intervention methodology consisting of a copper roof replacement, masonry restoration, window restoration with increased energy efficiency, and exterior lighting redesign conforming with the Parliament Hill Lighting Master Plan.

Photo credit: City of Ottawa

Award of Excellence: Heritage Grant

315-317 Cooper Street

315-317 Cooper Street, a property located in the Centretown Heritage Conservation District. The semi-detached house known as 315-317 Cooper Street form a lovely example of Queen Anne domestic architecture. The houses underwent renovations, including restoring and repairing the original windows and doors at the front of the home.

Photo credit: City of Ottawa

Award of Excellence: Preservation

Dickson House
1127 Mill Street

The Dickinson House at 1127 Mill Street, Manotick. The Georgian-style, two and half storey gable-roofed clapboard house across from Watson’s Mill was constructed in 1867. Initially used as mill offices and a general store, the house became the Dickinson family home in 1870. The restoration project at this site included extensive preliminary site documentation with 3-D scanning and site review. Following this, all doors, storm windows, and shutters were removed for repairs and repainted in the shop. Rotten wood elements were also removed and replaced where water damage was present. Lastly, the project team repainted the exterior following historical photos and heritage paint colours.

Photo credit: City of Ottawa

Award of Excellence: Rehabilitation

Embassy of Estonia 
168 Daly Avenue

The Embassy of Estonia, located at 168 Daly Avenue is part of the Daly Avenue Heritage Conservation District and was indicated as contributing to the area’s heritage character. The project included retaining the original building, making exterior and interior changes to suit the diplomatic mission functional program, and creating a dignified heritage-inspired addition that echoed the original porch, which was documented as existing around 1912.

Photo credit: City of Ottawa

Award of Excellence: Heritage Study

Wateridge Village Commemoration Program Handbook

The Wateridge Village Commemoration Program Handbook created by the Algonquins of Ontario and Canada Lands Company is a collection of stories, principles, and approaches, which will shape the commemoration work that has already begun on the Wateridge Village/Village des Riverains lands. This document represents one way to ensure that the stories of the past and the rich history of experience on these lands become part of the present‐day landscape. This public document allows participants to read and learn from their own stories – this includes members of local Algonquin communities, those who lived and worked on the Rockcliffe airbase, and francophone residents of surrounding neighbourhoods. As well, this handbook will be used by builders presently making new streets, homes, parks, and amenities – weaving a place for new community connections. The principles in this document encourage collaborative processes and approaches that meaningfully and sensitively bring the past into the present. 

Award of Merit: Government

Postal Station B – Ground Floor Rehab
59 Sparks Street

Postal Station B was designed by Architect W, E, Noffke and constructed between 1938 and as part of the Confederation Square redevelopment. The interior work at this property is also deserving of recognition. The project goal was to preserve the heritage character of the space while creating a new boardroom on the existing interior ground floor. Existing plaster cornices were scanned to produce moulds for reproduction, existing marble flooring was carefully cleaned and repaired, and a lighting system that was unobtrusive and sympathetic to the room's character was introduced in the space.

Photo credit: Roberta Gal

Award of Merit: Heritage Grant

Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons of Canada
774 Echo Drive

The Monastère du Précieux Sang building is an austere and imposing four-storey structure originally built for the Soeurs du Précieux Sang in 1914. The building is set on an expansive lot overlooking the Rideau Canal, and is an important Ottawa landmark. The Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons of Canada purchased the building in 1989 to serve as the headquarters for the organization. The project included repair and rehabilitation of the existing decorative two-storey stained glass windows and adjacent masonry façades.

Photo Credit: GRC Architects

Award of Merit: Infill

189 Stanley Avenue

Formerly at this location, there was a bungalow, which was evaluated as a non-contributing building within the New Edinburgh Heritage Conservation District. This building was demolished and replaced with two front-to-back semi-detached dwellings with a total of eight units that exhibit the same character, scale, volume, massing, floor area, and location as the previous bungalow. This is a contemporary interpretation of the existing housing stock that is highly respectful of the neighbourhood. At a time when there is a very real housing shortage, this development shows that density can be provided at a scale and a massing that respects even our most established neighbourhoods.

Photo credit: City of Ottawa

Award of Merit: Preservation

Watt House
150-152 James Street

The Watt House was built by Charles Gordon Watt in 1903. The project that was undertaken included a complete restoration of the two-storey curved verandah, which is unique in Ottawa. This project showed exemplary efforts to protect, maintain, and stabilize an individual component, while protecting its heritage value.

Photo credit: City of Ottawa

Award of Merit: Rehabilitation

Zibi – Block 208

Block 208, also known as the Beater Building, is one of only two buildings that remain as witnesses to the industrial nature of the former E.B. Eddy site. The Square’s design intends to celebrate the site’s industrial significance while honouring the traditional Algonquin Anishinabe territory on which it was built through interpretive elements and place naming. South and east façades from the 1900s remained largely intact following the demolition of the Main Mill. Their prominent visibility from Booth Street makes for a strong heirloom of the site’s former industrial use. Meanwhile, the reconstructed west and north facades speak to a more modern industrial interpretation, with contrasting metal siding and swaths of glass.

Photo credit: City of Ottawa

Community Initiative Award

Rockcliffe Park Heritage Walk Committee

Rockcliffe Park is one of the city’s Heritage Conservation Districts. It is one of the only three surviving nineteenth-century communities of its kind in North America. A group of Rockcliffe Park residents called the “The Heritage Walk Committee” organized a self-guided outdoor walking tour of significant heritage houses in the neighbourhood in early 2022. The two-day heritage walk series educated interested individuals in the history and architectural features of Rockcliffe Park and the engaging stories of their former homeowners who advanced the development of the Village and nation. The group also raised awareness and appreciation for these houses' contribution to the heritage of Rockcliffe Park and the larger city of Ottawa.

Community Heritage Award

This year's award was given to recognize the late François Bregha, a former resident of Sandy Hill who passed on July 15, 2022 after his battle with ALS. François was a community resource, neighbourhood historian, and heritage activist. He brought a century and a half of Sandy Hill's history to the community and worked closely with the community association Action Sandy Hill and the Historical Society of Ottawa. He also led walking tours for Heritage Ottawa. François was an exceptional researcher, storyteller, and writer whose legacy lives on through his blog, Sandy Hill Stories. Although no longer with us, the stories he shared and the projects he championed will remain.

Award of Excellence: Adaptive Re-Use (Government)

The Senate of Canada Building
2 Rideau Street

The Senate of Canada Building was built between 1909 and 1912 to the original design of B. Gilbert, as modified by Ross and MacFarlane. Designed in the Beaux-Arts Style, the building served as Ottawa’s Union Station until 1966. It later became the Government Conference Centre, until this restoration project began in 2014. The project consisted of transforming the building into the temporary home of the Senate of Canada. The work included restoring the plaster ceilings and walls, restoring the windows and masonry, and adding an addition to the eastern part of the building as well as on the roof. In addition to the restoration, the scope of the work included a new Senate Chamber, three committee rooms, offices, as well as accessibility upgrades.

Award of Excellence: Adaptive Re-Use

Flora Hall Brewing
37 Flora Street

The building was constructed in the early 20th century and was used as garage for many years. The building is a two-storey flat-roofed structure with a curved wood canopy, and stucco and brick quoins around the windows and on the corners. The building fell vacant in the early 2000s, before the property was bought by the current owner to convert it into a brewery. The project consisted of maintaining as many of the original industrial features as possible. These includes the glass block windows, wooden plank floors, stucco cladding and brick accents.

Award of Excellence: Restoration

Centre Block Ventilation Towers
Parliament Hill

The ventilation towers are a functional part of the original 1916-1921 Centre Block Parliament Building. They are situated on the north side of the Centre Block and exhaust air from the both the Senate and House of Commons chambers. The towers had developed structural problems and had been temporarily braced for quite some time. The project consisted of the installation of structural steel channels that were mounted into the masonry to provide capacity to resist reinforcement. Additionally, a significant amount of brickwork had deteriorated and would need either repair or replacement. The conservation approach was consistent with other work on the Centre Block and with the Standards and Guidelines for the Conservation of Historic Places in Canada.

Award of Excellence: Addition

National Arts Centre
1 Elgin Street

Built as a centennial project, the National Arts Centre is a Brutalist performing arts centre featuring geometric shapes, textured aggregate cladding and open terraces. This 2016 project features three new wings and a marquee tower. The contemporary glass additions wrap around the building and takes inspiration from the original structure in terms of geometric patterns and public spaces.

Award of Excellence: Other

Minto Bridges
Rideau River

The Minto Bridges were constructed between 1900 and 1902 as a processional route from Rideau Hall to Parliament Hill. The bridges were built under the direction of Robert Surtees, Engineer and advisor to the Ottawa Improvement Commission as a four-span bridge of steel construction with decorative details. The rehabilitation project included structural work, the conservation of the masonry substructures, steel trusses, concrete parapet wall and decorative steel railings, as well as the in kind replacement of the wooden sidewalks.

Award of Merit: Adaptive Re-Use

Dairy Building
Rideau Hall

The Dairy Building was constructed in 1895 for dairy-related uses at Rideau Hall. Over the years, the building has been used as an artist studio and storage area. This octagonal wood-clad building is capped with a multi-faced lantern. The project consisted of a thorough analysis of the wood deterioration. The decayed wood was replaced, new windows were installed to replicate the original, and new steel was applied to the lantern’s roof to replicate the original, and the lower roof was reshingled in cedar shingles. An early colour scheme applied to other outbuilding across the site was adopted for this restoration project. Today, the building is used as a winter pavilion next to the skating rink.

Award of Merit: Adaptive Re-Use

The Innovation at Bayview Yards
7 Bayview Road

The Innovation Centre at Bayview Yards was constructed in 1941 as the City of Ottawa Workshops as part of an industrial complex centered on the railway tracks. The modernist building features reinforced concrete and a brick veneer and includes a flat roof and large windows. The project included rehabilitating the building for conversion into a technological hub while incorporating as many of the industrial elements as possible. This included retaining the exterior cladding, some of the steel windows as well as the wooden garage doors.

Award of Merit: Restoration

Canada’s Four Corners Building
93 Sparks Street

The building was completed in 1871 in the Second Empire style with sandstone cladding, a mansard roof, wooden cornice and decorative stone elements. By 1918, the rusticated ground floor stones were removed to accommodate large storefront windows. The building required major restoration work. This included restoring the masonry, windows and cornice. New replica doors were created, and the roof form was reinstated from an earlier version. A paint analysis was completed to reveal the original colour scheme for the wood and copper detailing.

Award of Merit: Restoration

Churchill Seniors Centre
345 Richmond Road

The Churchill Seniors Centre was constructed in 1896 as the Nepean Town Hall. The building features a gabled cedar roof, bell tower and projecting entranceway. The scope of the project included repointing the walls with a lime-based mortar, replacing hand carved stone window sills, and replacing cut stones.

Award of Merit: Other

National War Memorial
Wellington Street

The National War Memorial is a cenotaph in the heart of downtown dedicated to the memory of all Canadians having served in the Armed Forces during a time of war. The memorial was unveiled in 1939 and has recently undergone restoration work. The scope of the project included restoration of the granite stones, cleaning and rehabilitating the bronze figures and structural reinforcement of the podium.

Award of Excellence: Restoration (Large-Scale)

The Wellington Building
180 Wellington Street

This award recognizes the extensive restoration, repair and adaptive re-use of 180 Wellington Street to accommodate committee rooms and offices for the House of Commons. The restoration of key elements such as the mosaic ceiling, marble-clad lobbies and historic stairs celebrates the historical character of the building.

Award of Merit, Sculptural Elements: Restoration (Large-Scale)

Supreme Court of Canada 
301 Wellington Street

This award recognizes the restoration of the flagpoles, torchères, light standards and sculptures in front of the Supreme Court of Canada. The restoration preserves the historic features of the site and celebrates the heritage value of the Supreme Court of Canada.

Award of Excellence: Restoration (Small-scale)

Fréchette House
87 MacKay Street 

This award recognizes the successful restoration of exterior and interior elements of the 1877 Frechette House located in New Edinburgh after a devastating fire. The meticulous restoration acknowledges the historic value of the house and the heritage character of the neighbourhood. 

Award of Merit: Restoration (Small-Scale)

Kipp House
144 Cathcart Street

This award recognizes the restoration of the front facade of the Kipp House (1876) in Lowertown using a historical photograph as evidence.

Award of Excellence: Adaptive Re-Use

Sir John A. Macdonald Building
144 Wellington Street

This award recognizes the restoration of the former Bank of Montreal, a Beaux-Arts building, which was transformed into a conference facility for the House of Commons. The building’s significant heritage attributes served as inspiration for the contemporary addition.

Award of Merit: Adaptive Re-Use

Alex Trebek Alumni Hall
155-157 Séraphin-Marion Private 

This award recognizes the restoration and adaptive re-use of two houses in Sandy Hill to create the University of Ottawa’s Alex Trebek Alumni Hall. The buildings’ exteriors were restored and a large front porch was reinstated, while the interior was made more functional for contemporary uses to comply with current accessibility requirements. The project maintains the historic streetscape.

Award of Excellence: Addition

House of Commons
Parliament Hill

This award recognizes the addition of seating in the House of Commons to accommodate an increased number of Members of Parliament. The new seating was designed to match the existing and was accommodated within the seating configuration.

Award of Excellence: Infill

Ravenhill Common
450 Churchill Avenue

This award recognizes the infill project known as Ravenhill Common, which is sympathetic to and compatible with its surroundings, yet distinguishable as a contemporary work. The project highlights the Westboro United Church and the massing, materials and form of the townhouses ensures that the character of the streetscape is maintained.