Old Ottawa South Community Centre
The Old Ottawa South Community Centre Renovation and Expansion was completed in 2010 for the City of Ottawa Parks and Recreation department, and the Ottawa South Community Association. The existing heritage building was originally constructed as a firehall, but since the 1970s has been used as a community centre. The scope of work for the renovation included the gutting and reorganization of the existing interior spaces, improvement of barrier-free access, and the upgrading of mechanical and electrical systems. The expansion provides the community with a new multipurpose room for a wide range of programs.
The addition respects the heritage qualities of the existing building while accommodating the new requirements of a larger hall and new program spaces. A high level of community consultation was engaged throughout the design phase. This project is a strong example of collaboration between the consultant team and the user groups.
This project gave new life to an older community centre with a complete renovation and expansion of the existing building for a community hall, recreation spaces, meeting rooms and craft studios, while adding accessibility to all areas. The addition was carefully designed to respect and complement the scale, massing and character of the original heritage fire station building, while carefully integrating it into the new design. The project won several awards for preservation of the architectural heritage, with an addition that was sensitive to the original fire station and to the surrounding neighbourhood character.