1907 – Second Placed Design for Departmental & Justice Buildings, Ottawa, Ontario

Second placed design by Darling & Pearson for new government buildings. The winners of the competition were E & W.S. Maxwell, but their winning design was never constructed. The whole competition got bogged down in political arguments and redesigns over the next few years.

Darling & Pearson described their design approach as “Whilst the Departmental and Justice Buildings have been kept separate and distinct, the area required for the Departmental Buildmg being so much ereater than that required for the Justice Building, we thought a better arrangement and balance in the erouping of the buildings could be achieved by planning them practically as three buildings with connectings wings, the Justice Building being kept entirely separate from the Departmental Building. They could, however, be connected by a covered passageway if so desired.”

They described the Departmental Building as ““This building is planned along the lines of a modern office building. The entrances, staircases and elevators are placed so as to allow of the separate working of the various departments. We have endeavored so far as is consistent with a Gothic style to plan the offices on a unit basis, so that the partitions between the various rooms can be taken down and re-arranged to meet the needs of the departments.”

And provided a longer description of the Justice Building due to its specialised needs.

“The various offices in this building are lighted from the exterior; the corridors only are lighted from the two central courtyards. The Supreme Court, Exchequer Court and Railway Commission are placed on the ground, first and second floors respectively, while the Department of Justice with all the office staff is located on the third and fourth floors.

The Court rooms run up two storeys in height and are well lighted from the sides. The judges’ bench in each ease is at the south end of the court room, to which access is obtained from the judges’ corridor, the same being disconnected from the other public corridors. All the judges’ rooms are en suite in the south wing, and private entrances, staircases, elevators and lavatories are provided entirely separate from the public. The main public entrance to this block is in the west end of the building facing Majors’ Hill Park, and three other public staircases with suitable elevator accommodation are provided.

The Library is housed in a separate wing, disconnected from the Justice Building prdper by a firewall. It is lighted by large mullioned windows from the sides and end, while we have endeavored to treat it both externally and internally so as to define its purpose. The book-stacks are arranged at each side of the wide central aisle, and between the columns and the external walls below the galleries is left ample spaée which could be comfortably arranged for readers. The gallery running down each side and across one end is reached from the ground floor of the Library by a staircase and from the corridor of the first floor. Large vaults for the storage of valuable books and manuscripts open off the library. The basement below can be used for packing, bookbinding or storage purposes.”

“It is with pleasure one turns to the next design, No. 12, by Messrs. Darling & Pearson, of Toronto, awarded second prize by the assessors. It is truly Gothic in plan and very cleverly arranged. The perspective is excellent and the treatment throughout is interesting in its variety. The detail in places is somewhat too bold, but these little faults would probably be eliminated if carried out by the authors, whose work is always refined. The draughting is bold and the perspectives elegantly rendered in pen and ink in a style closely resembling those of a well-known Scottish perspective artist. This design would probably give the most satisfaction of any in execution, and it is to be hoped that the Government will follow the lines indicated in this excellent design. This is one of the prettiest sets of drawings, being exquisitely rendered and well worthy of the place they have received.”
Canadian Architect and Builder, October 1907

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