Chateau in Distress

A series of posts discussing the recent news about a proposed addition to the Chateau Laurier hotel in downtown Ottawa.

Chateau Laurier (Post-Addition) - top section

Barry Padolsky’s Letter to Justin Trudeau

Many of you will have read about Barry Padolsky’s open letter to Prime Minister Justin Trudeau about the Château Laurier. Here is the letter in …

Sketch of proposed addition to Chateau Laurier 2

What Could the Château Laurier Addition Look Like?

In a piece in today’s National Post, Larco representative Dennis Jacobs used what I call the “Disneyland Cliché”: What they want to see is a …

Taking Responsibility

The vote on the Château Laurier that City Council will have tomorrow is profoundly important. Not because of its potential impact on what gets built …

The Last Word (of 2018)

Heritage Ottawa’s exhibition of student designs for an addition to the Château Laurier was a memorable event. People came, saw, asked questions, gave their views… …

Re-Framing the Question

I’ve believed for a long time that the proposed addition to the Château Laurier was based on faulty premises that need to be re-thought. So, …

Time to Think Outside the Box

Remember the first proposal for an addition to the romantic, picturesque Château Laurier? It was two boxes. Remember the second version? It was one long, …