INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCE CENTRE

Traditionally cities and towns have a place for public gathering (cultural hubs), such as major squares, historical
streets (or districts), churches, boulevards, etc. These public spaces serve both functional purposes, such as mediums of exchange for ideas, economic services, and also as places of cultural and social identity. The design of Ottawa’s ICC endeavors to serve both economic and social/cultural roles at a local level and to reinstate Canada’s image as an international leader in development and one of the world’s G8 nations.

Currently, some of the world’s largest economies are constructing supertall skyscrapers that are setting a historical precedent in engineering and design. Although Canada is currently home to the world’s tallest free-standing structure, the CN Tower, we are lacking, especially in our nation’s capital, the presence of symbolic modern architecture. One of the principal goals of the ICC is to regain recognition of Canada as a developed and advanced nation in the outside world.

The secondary, but equally important, objective of this project is to invigorate higher-density development in Ottawa’s downtown core. The establishment of the ICC as an internationally renowned structure will generate wide-spread interest in commercial and residential development as thousands of additional residents will be attracted to live near-by to one of Canada’s newest international centres and a hub of cultural, social and economic innovation.

 The third objective of the ICC proposal is to stimulate neo-urbanism design in the downtown area. The redesigned site plan for the current Ottawa Congress Centre will incorporate increased pedestrian access, maximum interconnectivity with public transit, highest and best use principle, increased/improved green space, mixed-use and multi-use facilities. The ICC is planned to provide easy public use and access to the building, thus this large building provides activities at a smaller and more human scale to the everyday user.  

The concept behind the design of the ICC is a linkage between the form of the structure and its impact on the form of the city of Ottawa.  The ICC is designed to resemble a continental glacier. Glaciers played an important part in shaping the landscape of Canada and carving out the Ottawa Valley. The ICC will also play an important role in carving out the new urban landscape of Ottawa and reinstating Canada as a world leader in design development.