Centre Block
| Centre Block | |
|---|---|
 |
|
| General information | |
| Architectural style | Gothic Revival |
| Town or city | Ottawa, Ontario |
| Country | Canada |
| Coordinates | 45°25′30″N 75°41′59″W / 45.42506°N 75.699829°W |
| Construction started | 24 July 1916 |
| Completed | 1 July 1927 |
| Client |
The Queen in Right of the United Kingdom (1859) The King in Right of Canada (1916) |
| Owner | The Queen in Right of Canada |
| Design and construction | |
| Architect | John A. Pearson and Jean-Omer Marchand |
The Centre Block (in French: Édifice du Centre) is the main building of the Canadian parliamentary complex on Parliament Hill, in Ottawa, Ontario, containing the House of Commons and Senate chambers, as well as the offices of a number of members of parliament, senators, and senior administration for both legislative houses. It is also the location of several ceremonial spaces, such as the Hall of Honour, the Memorial Chamber, and Confederation Hall.
Built in the Gothic Revival style, the present Centre Block is the building's second iteration. The first was destroyed by fire in 1916; all that remains of the original building is the Library of Parliament, at the rear of the Centre Block. Though construction began immediately after the blaze, sculpting work on the interior continued through the 1970s. One of the most recognizable buildings in Canada, the Centre Block is depicted on the Canadian $10 bill (the Library of Parliament), $20 bill (the Peace Tower), and the $50 bill.
Designed by Jean Omer Marchand and John A. Pearson, the Centre Block is a 144 m (472 ft) long by 75 m (246 ft) deep, and six storey high,symmetrical structure built in the modern Gothic Revival style. As such, it displays a multitude of stone carvings, including gargoyles, grotesques, and friezes, keeping with the Victorian High Gothic style of the rest of the parliamentary complex. The walls are faced with more than 50,000 blocks of over 24 different types of stone, though a rustic finished Nepean sandstone is the predominant kind of masonry, with dressed stone trim around the 550 windows and other edges. The roof is of reinforced concrete covered with copper, and dotted with dormer windows. The interior walls are sheeted with Tyndall stone, a dolomitic limestone quarried in southeastern Manitoba and chosen by the architect for the richness of its vibrant colour and rich texture, formed by darker brown spots caused by fine fern markings. These surfaces are augmented by sculptural decoration done in Indiana limestone.
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