The West Block

The West Block is one of the three major parliamentary buildings located on Parliament Hill in Ottawa.

Built in 1860, the building has undergone a massive renovation that included:

• Completely new mechanical and electrical infrastructure providing energy-efficient delivery of modern building standards of comfort and services.
• Updated security, communications and audiovisual systems to current standards.
• Enclosed courtyard, providing a temporary House of Commons assembly space in this location, thus allowing a full upgrade of the Centre Block.

Crossey Engineering began working on this project in 1994. It went through several government and design iterations. The project design was completed in multiple packages and designed to strict her­itage requirements to maintain, or return the building to the original design intent.

The Chamber is covered by a glass roof, de­signed to filter sunlight and external sound. The bright and airy Chamber has a number of environmentally and people-friendly design features. These features include:

• A triple-glazed roof with controls to manage sunlight levels
• Glass roof panels that will help keep the Chamber cool in the summer and warm in the winter
• Ventilation of glass attic/pillow space to control temperature and recover heat when available
• Energy-efficient LED lighting

Additionally, VSC provided full commissioning for the West Block renovation.