ROYAL OTTAWA HOSPITAL

ROYAL OTTAWA HOSPITAL

Set within a large site with a natural park-like atmosphere and replacing a campus of dilapidated buildings, is the competition-winning entry for the Royal Ottawa Hospital. This large psychiatric facility engages its site in two very distinct ways. By locating the research, education, administration and 200 – seat auditorium in a seven-storey glass tower and placing it as close to Carling Avenue as possible, a tall transparent building begins to engage with the city, thereby presenting a “high tech” entrance building to the street.

Simultaneously, nine three-storey, house-like inpatient/outpatient buildings (specialized programs) have merged with the adjacent park, by weaving their staggered, parallel bar architecture into the surrounding natural environment. Constructed of warm, earth-toned buff brick, these long, linear buildings incorporate numerous courtyards, allowing patients safe year-round access to contained outdoor spaces.

An additional challenge that faced this project was an aggressive two-year construction schedule. Under this mandate, all existing facilities had to remain operational throughout the construction process, with demolition of the existing facility only commencing when the new hospital was up and running.

As a completed project, the Royal Ottawa Hospital shows both sides of its face, with a city-focused glass research education tower fronting onto its arrival street, to garden-entrenched patient housing, thus expressing the dichotomy of the building’s many programs and its diverse site conditions.

LOCATION: Ottawa, Ontario

ARCHITECT: Parkin Architects Ltd.
+ Adamson Associates Architects + Brisbin Brook Beynon Architects

DESIGN LEADERSHIP: Michael Poitras,
Partner-in-Charge of Design (Adamson)

COMPETITION: Private/Public Partnership (P3) – First Place

CLIENT: Healthcare Infrastructure Company of Canada

STATISTICS:

  • Research, Education, Administration & Auditorium:
    7 storeys
  • Inpatient/Outpatient buildings: 3 storeys
  • Total floor area:
    400,000 ft2 (37,160 m2)
  • Surface Parking: 214 stalls
    (including 3 barrier-free)

MATERIALS:

  • Silver curtain wall windows & doors
  • Buff brick
  • Silver pre-finished metal panels
  • Cedar wood landscape walls
  • Outdoor landscaping

GENERAL PROGRAM:

  • Research, education & 200-seat auditorium
  • Administrative & outpatient services
  • Inpatient services:
    • Forensic
    • Mood/anxiety disorders
    • Geriatrics
    • Child/youth services
    • Substance abuse
    • Intensive assessment
    • Schizophrenia
  • 200 inpatient beds
  • Loading docks: 4

COST: $150 million

COMPLETION: 2007