Introduction: Centre Block project due diligence report: Cost report

Introduction

This report has been developed by independent cost, time, and risk experts Turner & Townsend to provide PSPC and Parliament with an Opinion of Probable Cost for the hard construction, including key cost drivers, associated with the restoration and modernization of the Centre Block and the construction of the new Parliament Welcome Centre. The estimates in this report are based on the current scope information contained in the 90% Schematic Design and design modifications made based on feedback from the Royal Architectural Institute of Canada’s Independent Design Review Panel, who has independently reviewed and endorsed the current design.

Benchmarking: accepted standard and best practice

The Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (RICS) is the World’s leading professional body for qualifications and standards in land, property and construction.

In 2013, RICS produced a global Guidance Note, first edition, for Cost analysis and benchmarking. This report has been prepared in accordance with RICS principles by professional Quantity Surveyors who are members of the RICS.

Background

The Parliamentary Precinct is a national historic site, and the Centre Block is a classified heritage building. It is one of Canada’s most important national symbols and is the physical representation of Canadian democracy. It is home to the Senate of Canada, the House of Commons, and the Library of Parliament. Built in the Gothic Revival style, the building includes highly decorative architectural elements from stone carvings to ornate plaster ceilings, as well as several ceremonial spaces, including the Chambers of the Senate of Canada and House of Commons, the Peace Tower, Memorial Chamber, Hall of Honour, and Confederation Hall. Parliament Hill draws millions of visitors annually.

PSPC is responsible for the restoration and modernization of the buildings in and around Parliament Hill, preserving these heritage treasures for the use of Parliament and Canadians. These efforts are guided by the Long Term Vision and Plan, a multi-decade strategy that has been in place since 2001 and includes successes such as the recently completed West Block (2018), Senate of Canada Building (2018), Phase I of the Parliament Welcome Centre (2018), and many other key projects, such as the 180 Wellington (2016) and Sir John A Macdonald Building (2015).

With the successful transition of parliamentary operations to the West Block and Senate of Canada Building in 2019, focus has now shifted to the restoration and modernization of the Centre Block. This effort will be the largest heritage rehabilitation undertaken in Canada to date and is one of the largest in the world. To ensure the efficient use of resources and advance the project in a timely manner, PSPC is employing an integrated design and construction plan, whereby the completion of the design is sequenced and being developed concurrently to the commencement of construction. To this end, construction activities that require completion and are not impacted by final design considerations, including demolition and abatement activities in the Centre Block and excavation of the Parliament Welcome Centre, have been launched. This strategy is a prudent project management practice and demonstrates effective stewardship of cost and schedule considerations. Waiting for the 100% completion of the Detailed Design to have fully-substantiated project costs before commencing any construction work would cause significant cost increases, as well as delays to the overall schedule and the completion of the project.

Given the importance of continued parliamentary operations without disruption, the Centre Block had not benefitted from any significant intervention since it was constructed more than one hundred years ago and is in dire need of rehabilitation. Although still majestic, prior to closure the building was very difficult and costly to maintain. Building components and systems were well beyond their expected lifecycle, many as old as the building itself, and were beginning to fail. Stone was damaged by water infiltration and Ottawa’s extreme freeze-thaw cycle. Unseen behind the stone and plaster, water was also corroding structural steel, which further damaged the masonry. Also concealed behind the beautiful heritage finishes are kilometres of rusted out heating pipes, which broke and leaked water causing damage to the heritage fabric. Electrical and communications systems were inadequate and stretched to capacity trying to support modern broadcasting technology that it was never designed or equipped to accommodate.

The building was cold in the winter due to leaking windows and a lack of insulation, and in the summer heat, required window-mounted air conditioning units which are unsightly and costly to operate. Finally, elevators, including the Peace Tower, routinely broke down, and in the last year of operation required daily attention and maintenance.

The Centre Block was constructed at a time when seismic codes did not exist and climate change was not a consideration. Despite serving as Canada’s house, the Centre Block was not designed in a way to welcome all Canadians equally. The Centre Block must be adapted so that it can become earthquake resilient, transform itself from one of the Government of Canada’s worst energy consuming and greenhouse gas emitting assets (per m2 in the Public Services and Procurement Canada (PSPC) portfolio) to a carbon-neutral facility that is accessible for all Canadians.

As an essential working parliamentary building, Centre Block must be adapted to incorporate modern parliamentary requirements ranging from security to multimedia to broadcasting while respecting and conserving the heritage and ceremonial spaces. As a heritage building with space constraints, not all parliamentary functions can be accommodated within the Centre Block. In particular, prior to its closure, visitor security screening was conducted inside the Centre Block at the base of the Peace Tower with only one scanner. Improved infrastructure is essential to support the demand of the increasing numbers of Canadians and international visitors who visit Parliament Hill. Prior to its closure, approximately 350,000 people took a guided tour on an annual basis. However, approximately three out of every four tour requests could not be accommodated due to the lack of visitor infrastructure.

Ottawa’s seismic zone

The Parliamentary Precinct, and Canada’s iconic Centre Block, falls within the Western Quebec Seismic Zone, which encompasses a vast territory that encloses the Ottawa Valley from Montreal to Temiscaming, as well as the Laurentians and Eastern Ontario. This is the second most active seismic zone in the country, with an earthquake occurring every five days, with an average magnitude less 2.0.

In 2015, the National Building Code of Canada updated seismic standards, including but not limited to guidelines related to the Base isolation approach for engineers. Base isolation minimizes the seismic energy that is transferred from the ground to the building, reducing the level of intervention to reinforce buildings. In the case of the Centre Block, this approach ensures the building will withstand future seismic events while avoiding structural interventions that would damage the valuable existing heritage fabric.

Earthquakes in or near Canada, 1627 to 2020

Visitor experience

Parliament Hill welcomes increasing numbers of Canadians and international visitors annually, with over 350,000 visitors participating in guided tours every year. The new Parliament Welcome Centre offers an improved visitor experience with enhanced tour support capabilities, as well as an alternate visitor experience, which will allow the Library of Parliament to connect approximately double the number of Canadians with Parliament and increase engagement with school groups.

The universally-accessible path of travel provides barrier-free access from the Centennial Flame, to the open and inviting Parliament Welcome Centre, through the newly transformed courtyards, and into the Senate of Canada and House of Commons Chamber Galleries, where visitors can witness and participate in the democratic process.

Scope

After a century of serving Canada and Canadians, the Centre Block needs a complete overhaul, inside and out, to preserve, restore, and modernize a piece of the nation’s history for generations to come. The Centre Block is the largest heritage rehabilitation program in Canadian history, and has been recognized by the Project Management Institute (PMI) as a globally-influential project, ranking first in Canada and seventh overall for North America. Key highlights of the program include:

• Complete replacement and, or repair of failing building components ranging from the windows, roof, masonry, and building systems
• Upgrades to meet modern standards and codes include, but are not limited to, structural, seismic, fire, elevators, stairwells, and washrooms
• Modernizing or adding the necessary infrastructure to support parliamentary operations ranging from updating the Chambers, committee rooms, and offices to support services including food services and media services, to modern Information Technology (IT), broadcasting and multi-media, and physical and, or cyber security

Courtyards: east and west

Centre Block has three open air courtyards that were designed to bring light into the building. These spaces were previously inaccessible and unused, but are now the key to making Canada’s house more accessible to all Canadians. A new glass roof structure, will enclose the courtyards and connect to the existing roof structure meeting a multitude of program objectives.

Sustainability

The significant surface area of the courtyard stone facades are a substantial source of energy loss. Enclosing these courtyards is critical to achieving carbon neutrality and will make the building much more efficient and less costly to maintain because these courtyard’s exterior walls will no longer be exposed to Ottawa’s extreme freeze-thaw cycle that deteriorates masonry over time.

Universal accessibility

After rehabilitation, the courtyards will provide a universally-accessible path of travel from the Parliament Welcome Centre to the Centre Block, including for public tour groups, individuals visiting the Centre Block for business purposes as well as the Chamber Galleries for visiting Canadians.

Functionality

The infill of the courtyards provides much needed additional space for circulation, stairs, and elevators, required by code, avoiding significant and damaging interventions in the heritage fabric of the building. The courtyards also facilitate public access as they are the main interface between the Parliament Welcome Centre and the Centre Block. This elegant interface and point of entry for visitors avoids congesting areas in the heritage building that are critical to the operations of Parliament.

The indicative construction cost for the East and West Courtyards is in the order of $22M each.

The program also includes the construction of an underground Parliament Welcome Centre which will improve the security posture of Parliament by providing a secure visitor screening outside the footprint of the Centre Block, provide parliamentary functions that require proximity to the Centre Block, as well as dramatically improve visitor infrastructure, including improved public tour facilities and an alternate visitor experience to complement the popular tours. Once constructed, this new underground facility will connect the Centre, East, and West Blocks into one integrated parliamentary complex.

With an emphasis on universal accessibility and achieving carbon neutrality, the design approach for both the Centre Block and Parliament Welcome Centre achieves these scope requirements while ensuring that the rehabilitation of the heritage Centre Block and the parliamentary landscape remains at the heart of the project. The parliamentary lawn has been preserved in its traditional form with a focus on maintaining its size and relationship with the Parliament Buildings and other key architectural elements such as the Vaux Wall. The heritage fabric of the Centre Block building has been conserved and protected. Interventions will provide an opportunity to enrich the way Parliamentarians and Canadians interact with the buildings and the site as well as integrate a new contemporary layer of heritage into the Parliamentary Precinct.

Parliamentary program and building modernization highlights

The functional requirements of Parliament have evolved with time, the growth of the country, the advancement of technology, and the evolving security environment. PSPC worked in close collaboration with Parliament over the past 18 months to finalize parliamentary functional program requirements and obtain key program decisions to advance the schematic design. The current design is the basis upon which this cost report has been developed. Despite early challenges to find adequate space to modernize the Centre Block, key decisions such as retaining the House of Commons chamber within its existing footprint as well as leveraging previously underutilized space, such as the three courtyards, are enabling the building to be modernized in a cost-effective manner and without significant reductions to parliamentary functions or impacts to the high-heritage and ceremonial spaces.

Hall of Honour infill

Traditional spaces for Parliamentarians to interact informally have been lost within the Centre Block. A newly-created space located above the Hall of Honour provides a unique opportunity to create shared space so that parliamentarians come together, to gather, meet, and work. The concept of shared space reintroduces the original functionality of Pearson & Marchand’s design, which has been lost over time due to space constraints.

The table below provides a high-level overview of the Parliamentary and base building capabilities for the Centre Block and Parliament Welcome Centre post rehabilitation. The comparison highlights the increase in building use efficiencies based on the current schematic design.