How do you turn a 1990s bookstore into the city’s hottest live events venue? That was the question the team at CSV Architects started mulling in 2024 as they took on the project to transform the former Chapters location at 47 Rideau St. into History Ottawa, a 2,000-seat Live Nation venue. CSV is the Ottawa […]
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How do you turn a 1990s bookstore into the city’s hottest live events venue?
That was the question the team at CSV Architects started mulling in 2024 as they took on the project to transform the former Chapters location at 47 Rideau St. into History Ottawa, a 2,000-seat Live Nation venue.
CSV is the Ottawa firm behind projects such as the Rideau Canal Skateway shelters, the Loeb Building and MacOdrum Library at Carleton University, and Kinaxis’s new headquarters in Kanata.
As with most projects, creating History Ottawa started with a feasibility study and understanding the vision of the client, Live Nation.
“Once it was decided it was the right spot, we started listening to all the different technical requirements for the vision of the space,” said CSV principal Darryl Hood.
Those included the three tests of architecture: commodity, firmness and delight. “It needs to be built for its purpose, but it needs to be beautiful,” Hood explained.
From there, the process moved to considering how different users would experience the space.
“We almost had to do a day-in-the-life of the day-to-day employee to event employees and the artists,” Hood said. “There’s a lot of emphasis on the artist’s experience and how they would interact with the space. It really was about weaving all those things together, (from) the more mundane deliveries versus the opening night of a big show.”
For its part, Live Nation wanted History Ottawa to have a brand similar to its sister location in Toronto’s Beaches neighbourhood, but have its own distinct look. Ali Shafaee, regional vice-president, told OBJ that his team learned a number of lessons from its first History location.
“We realized when we opened (History Toronto) that the dressing room space, office spaces and artist space were things that were limited and needed to be improved on. So in Ottawa, we’ve got a totally revamped artist experience, which includes multiple dressing rooms, lounge areas and fitness options.
“We want to make sure that when artists arrive at the venue in Ottawa until they leave, it’s an all-in-one (experience). They can get everything that they need within the space and will be able to treat the venue as their home for 24 hours or however long they’re in town,” Shafaee explained.
For fans, Shafaee said Live Nation considered how people would flow through the space on show days.
“We’ve learned through Toronto being hugely successful what a fan wants to see and how they want to experience a show from the moment they show up to when they leave. So, dealing with different touchpoints, such as getting drinks, going to the washroom and coat check … are all things that will continue to evolve in our venues,” he said.
And since Ottawa is known for galas, award shows and special events, Shafaee said History Ottawa will be outfitted with a 200-person event space and VIP lounge.
“Where History Toronto was very much focused on the music side – yes, it would have galas and awards, but it wasn’t a major focus – in Ottawa, it was important to be able to focus on being able to support other major events that happen in the city. We’ve designed the space in a way that the ByWard Market will be able to handle things like that.
“It’s a unique space that we can use during shows, but it works as its own individual space as well,” Shafaee said.
For CSV, the project posed a number of challenges. Rather than having a blank canvas, Rick Kellner, director at CSV, said the team had to work within the Chapters footprint, which is a sort of L-shaped lot.
“Certainly top of mind was the capacity, but also how Live Nation wanted it to work,” Kellner said. “The flow of the pieces, the operational point of view for all of the back-of-house pieces … We developed quite a number of floorplans that we negotiated.
“The transformation (of the space) is not insignificant. There’s been a few major moments, like creating the open space was a big one and then getting it all tightened up for the winter and getting the construction on most of the interiors happening over the winter,” he said.
Another major challenge was acoustics, Kellner added.
“There was a part of the design process that was all about acoustics – not necessarily to keep sound from coming in, but for sound going out. As you can imagine, a concert venue downtown that’s close to residential buildings, there would be concerns. There were … design decisions that were implemented to make sure that we were good neighbours,” Kellner said.
Bringing a modern venue to a heritage location was also an issue, Kellner said. “The heritage overlay on the George Street elevation provided some unique challenges for respecting the original look of the building but … negotiating to make some changes, slight alterations, to give it more of a unique look.”
Shafaee said the George Street entrance will keep its original brickwork and greenery. And in the effort to be good neighbours in the Market, he said Live Nation will make sure its Rideau Street entrance “doesn’t impact other businesses, but at the same time, is a real standout.”
From stakeholders to engineers and construction crews, a project of this size has many people involved, Hood said.
“Being on the (National Capital Commission) ceremonial route, we had to respect the requirements for that on the Sussex Drive side … the City of Ottawa also had a lot of different involvement. They’ve been great to work with on logistics for George (Street) for the days of shows and how the Rideau Street elevation would work on show days,” he said.
When it opens next month, Shafaee said History Ottawa will bring “something that doesn’t exist in Ottawa.”
“The expectation is we’re going to be bringing a live entertainment venue that can literally do everything,” Shafaee told OBJ. “Musically, you’re going to expect everything from country to hip-hop to rock and dance music and Latin. We think the fan experience downtown, whether you’re coming in for a show and having dinner before and drinks after, will allow them to do something that they haven’t been able to do in Ottawa, which is really make a night out of it.”
As the new venue prepares to open, Hood and Kellner at CSV said they’re proud of the work that went into the project.
“As a local business, we’re really happy to be involved, but then also see what it’s going to do for the city. I think it’s going to be great for the city’s overall tourism. I think that’s the part that makes us most proud of being involved — it’s the community of it,” Hood said.
