A local architecture firm is pursuing a “once-in-a-lifetime” opportunity to renovate the prime minister’s residence, with the goal of representing all 13 provinces and territories in the design.
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A local architecture firm is pursuing a “once-in-a-lifetime” opportunity to renovate the prime minister’s residence, with the goal of representing all 13 provinces and territories in the design.
Ottawa-based firm Linebox Studio responded to a request for qualifications (RFQ) from Public Services and Procurement Canada, issued in August. The federal department is looking for qualified teams to restore and modernize the heritage property at 24 Sussex Dr. The submission period for the project closed last week.
Andrew Reeves, founder and principal partner at Linebox, said it was an opportunity his firm couldn’t pass up.
“I look at this as Canada’s home,” he told OBJ. “Theoretically, as an architect, what an insane challenge that would be to solve that question. Our approach, we’re calling it ‘13 Voices, One Home.’ What we’re trying to do is represent all the provinces and territories, what Canada is now and what it was. It’s literally a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity.”
In the design process, Reeves said the goal will be to get input from across the country. “We want this to be a reflection of Canada’s past, Canada’s future and where we are now.”
For Reeves, part of the appeal of the project is its complexity.
“The building comes with all these technical things: security and bomb-proofing, heritage requirements, and it’s one of the most stunning sites in all of Ottawa,” he said. “That’s what gets us up in the morning is these complex things; physically, technically and conceptually. As an architect, you can’t get any more excited about an opportunity.”
However, the technical challenges can create barriers in the procurement process for smaller firms like Linebox. While the winning firm will be decided through a design competition — which Reeves said he’d like to see more of in the federal procurement process — the RFQ phase sets out strict requirements for applicants.
The team, including the architect, builder, interior designer and a variety of engineers, must be assembled upfront. Reeves said there is also a requirement for security experience, which he said was the most difficult to navigate.
“You can bring in a specialty security consultant to provide that experience, which is what we ultimately did, but even then the consultant has to have exactly the right completed precedent and has to commit to the team going forward,” said Reeves. “There are plenty of very capable security firms in Canada. There are far fewer that can point to one project that checks every one of those boxes.”
On the security side, the RFQ requires that someone on the team has experience being part of a $35-million high-security facility project. The builder, meanwhile, has to have been part of a $50-million complex building project.
While Reeves said standards should be high for this type of project, he said all the requirements combined serve to significantly narrow the door to entry for the design competition.
“We were able to assemble and submit a team that we believe meets those requirements,” he said. “Going through that exercise first-hand is what made me question whether the process ultimately identifies the seven best teams to imagine and deliver Canada's home, or the seven teams best able to assemble this exact matrix of past credentials.”
With the firm’s submission complete, Reeves said it’s now a waiting game to see if his team is shortlisted as one of the seven for the design competition. He added that there’s no specific deadline to find out if the team qualifies.
Reeves said he’d like to see 24 Sussex redesigned in Ottawa, but with feedback from across the country.
“Being an Ottawa citizen, I’ve seen the evolution of 24 Sussex, the ups and downs and trials and tests, the debates and all those kinds of things,” he said. “For me, I look at these things as beautiful complexities. This is Canada’s home, not the prime minister’s home.”
