I touched a bit on Prime Minister Mark Carney’s Davos speech in my post yesterday. Davos has made a lasting impact on the thinking of world leaders everywhere, per various reports, even six months after the fact. And then while waiting hours for the boring NHL draft to work its way to the Canadiens’ #26 pick, I learned that Carney has opened up a national competition for the restoration of the official Canadian Prime Minister’s Ottawa residence, 24 Sussex Drive.

It got me to thinking about what an amazing opportunity this is for 24 Sussex to become a symbolic building (and site) of equal global impact, to underline how Canada is the land of big ideas to lead in the 21st century. “In a big country, dreams stay with you,” non-Canadian Stuart Adamson sang, R.I.P.*

[SIDE NOTE TIME]: 

I confess to being a huge fan of the Scottish band, Big Country (at least 1980s Big Country). When the song “In a Big Country” comes on the radio in the car, the kids get a taste of their dad lamely singing along (Stuart Adamson’s register and mine, nuh-uh) because that song speaks to me of my Scottish ancestry and what they must have been thinking in the 19th century when migrating here.

So take a look out of here, it doesn’t fit you 

Because it’s happened doesn’t mean you’ve been discarded

Pull up your head off the floor, come out screaming

Cry out for everything you ever might have wanted

I thought that pain and truth were things that really mattered

But you can’t stay here with every single hope you had shattered 

Does that not sound like the thrust of the Davos speach in a nutshell? I digress.

[OK, END SIDE NOTE]

At a moment in history when the White House and other Washington DC landmarks are being mistreated and desicrated, surely we can show the world what world-class treatment the home of a G7 government leader can and should look like. The existing building is very grey, and where it isn’t nondescript, it’s entirely dreary. It wasn’t for nothing that Margaret Trudeau (Justin’s mom) once famously dismissed it as “the crown jewel of Canada’s penitentiary system.”

And it’s been ages since the place fell into disrepair, as comedian Rick Mercer brought to the fore multiple times during both the Martin and Harper eras. Justin Trudeau, harbouring his own bitter childhood memories of the place, refused to bring his family to live there in his nine years as PM, understandably. But perhaps less understandable was his reluctance to push for anything substantive to be done about it.

I’ve never seen you look like this without a reason

Another promise fallen through another season passes by you 

Now it’s reportedly been thoroughly stripped-down, de-asbestosed and
uncrittered, ready for either a complete renovation or teardown. 

I have thoughts on this, but before I get ahead of myself, let’s take a gander at what
the Canadian architectural community has put out there on the subject.
Hooboy, it’s a lot.
At a glance, the concept of outright demolition doesn’t appear to be
particularly popular among the architectural community (at least those
who get published in Canadian Architect). But I think that thinking is
wrong, particularly because cost-efficiency is one of Carney’s
bullet-point priorities for the project.

I’m going to come right out and say I have virtually no sentimentality towards the existing structure, which (let’s face it) was designed from a 19th century colonialist mindset. It stands as a testament to the days of white privilege, and we have plenty of other heritage buildings inherently expressing that architecturally, the least of which being our (still under extensive renovation) buildings of Parliament. 

With that in mind, the only thing important to keep is the address.

The new 24 Sussex Drive should show off what we can do today, not how bigly we can modernize and replicate the 19th Century style. That would be a page out of Trump’s modus operandi. The new design should take inspiration from recent Canadian architectural trends, celebrating our indigenous communities’ connection to the natural world, and reflecting our country’s contemporary multicultural character.

I’m not expecting to grow flowers in the desert

But I can live and breath and see the sun in wintertime 

I happen to know just a little bit about modern construction, restoration and structural strengthening innovations. I write professionally in a marketing capacity targeting these very experts. (I cannot wait to see what imaginative and innovative plans our incredibly talented Canadian architects come up with. They blow me away time after time). And I know they know that any plans will need to fall in line with the Federal Sustainable Development Strategy, which also means aligning with the UN sustainability goals.

One of the problems with demolition is the environmental cost, which is why dismantlement (or “deconstruction” as one Montreal company calls it) is making headway. In this respect, it can also serve to help fund the project. I can’t tell you how many offices, restos and barber shops in Montreal proudly showcase their old Montreal Forum seats for customers to drool over (at least, hockey fans).

Imagine how many Canadian patriots would pay a premium to have a piece of the original 24 Sussex Drive in their own homes, shops, town halls, etc.? Especially knowing the money went into the rebuilding of the landmark. The new building and site can be modern, carbon-neutral, self-sustaining with renewable solar power, built with Canadian-manufactured materials, easier for the RCMP to provide the needed security, and respective of the multi-faceted Canada that can become emblamatic of our forward-thinking, inclusive outlook.

In a Big Country, dreams stay with you

Like a lover’s voice fires the mountainside

Stay alive

Cheers

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