Sunday, March 29, 2015

Big Enough For An Aircraft Hanger

The interior of the Ottawa Convention Centre is spread out over four levels. There are a number of meeting rooms, ranging from the sort of size suited for perhaps a couple dozen people to larger spaces for company conferences, meetings, or receptions. The largest space is Canada Hall, on the third level.


Canada Hall is big enough to fit a plane (as long as you assemble it, because that's the only way it's getting in here). It can accomodate six thousand people, and one can expect things like trade shows, large conferences, or political conventions in here. The Hall can be subdivided into smaller sections with retractable walls as needed.

Here work is being done in between trade shows. The benefit of living here is that one can take a peek inside the Convention Centre at leisure.


41 comments:

  1. Massive, six thousand people!

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  2. It will be the biggest lounge that I know.

    Tomás.

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  3. A giant place! Will be interesting to see some exhibitions there.

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  4. Sure is a big place, I bet it's housed a lot of interesting events!

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  5. A multifunctional hall is very pretty for diverse events indeed.

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  6. These places do look huge when they are empty of tables and booths and People.

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  7. I am always amazed at this sort of spaces.

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  8. Impressive William, very impressive..

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  9. Impressionante espaço
    Paredes retráteis uma inovação interessante.
    Espetacular ideia
    Um abraço

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  10. I compare the size of these buildings to how many hockey rinks big they are.

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  11. Seems like spring really brings out the 'shows' at least in these parts. Homes, Boats, Designs, Preachers, Antiques, Worlds Biggest Garage Sale etc... Get the picture?

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  12. Well your convention centre may look better on the outside William but it's very similar on the inside.

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  13. It's huge. Nothing looks more like a convention centre than a convention centre!!!

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  14. @Linda: and big!

    @Peter: a good sized political convention will fill this space easily, and so will trade shows.

    @Cloudia: I've never tried it, but I expect the acoustics in here would do that nicely.

    @Tomas: quite oversized for a lounge.

    @Halcyon: I'll have to get in sometime during a trade show.

    @Aimee: among other things, a big hockey event when the All-Star Game was being held here.

    @Jan: you certainly can fit a lot of people inside.

    @Marianne: true.

    @Sharon: it then looks cavernous.

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  15. @Gnome: thanks!

    @Luis: they serve their purpose well. The city was short on large convention space while the rebuild was going on.

    @Geoff: thanks!

    @Tex: it really is.

    @Gracita: thank you.

    @Red: that's a good standard of measurement.

    @Birdman: yes, they do attract that sort of thing.

    @Grace: true. This is the working space of the place. I prefer the promenades where you can look out through the glass wall.

    @Ciel: quite true!

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  16. HMMM. it makes me wonder why the planners would put the LARGEST room on the third floor. Maybe they wanted to ensure no one tried to fill it with large and heavy things. Maybe.

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  17. These giant spaces are amazing - especially with what can be done with them. I went to a massive holiday party (over 2000 people for sit down dinner) at the Metro Toronto Convention Centre a few years ago and couldn't believe the size of the place.

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  18. Waouhouh .... huge as almost all convention centers !

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  19. What? No NCAA basketball games? :-)

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  20. it does indeed look big. Is that where all the main trade shows are held in Ottawa?

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  21. I'm surprised they let you wander about in there!

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  22. That's huge, William! About the spring blossoms here in Portland, we're well ahead of the usual time for blooming, at month or more ahead. I wonder what impact it will have on folks' allergies.

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  23. Very impressive. Maybe we should hold our next bloggers' convention there! On the 3rd floor, of course.

    Re your comment on Ocala: By jove, you've got it. It's an unbalanced beam! Heh, heh.

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  24. @Marleen: it definitely is.

    @EG: in part because stepping out of here onto the third promenade gives a view one would never get on the first floor, but I'm sure there are also structural reasons.

    @Jen: I've been in that centre- it is big.

    @Norma: quite definitely.

    @Anna: they do tend to become quite large, but if they're used a lot, like this one is, they're worth it.

    @VP: it is!

    @Revrunner: none of those!

    @Gill: yes, this one and another conference centre down near the airport. There are smaller spaces throughout the city, but these are the biggest ones.

    @RedPat: I've never had a problem getting in.

    @Lynette: that would explain it.

    @Lowell: I even recommend the fourth floor promenade, just for the view outside!

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  25. What a wonderful place to have a trade show!

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  26. Grand lighting on this huge space. I am wondering if this hosts trade events, how they manage to lug heavy exhibits to the third floor. Crane maybe?

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  27. Those places echo when that empty. It is like something must fill up all that space.

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  28. wow, that would be an echo moment!! ha. ha!! you there??! ha. ha!! ( :

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  29. It's huge but I am sure it doesn't look like it when its full.

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  30. It was always fun when I worked at a major hotel in San Francisco to see the big convention spaces transformed for events. It's pretty amazing to go from a huge void like this to a hive of people and activities.

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  31. Almost too big. Walking through a show there could be exhausting!

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  32. @Cheryl: it is!

    @Gemma: they would have freight elevators that are behind the scenes as opposed to the public lifts that one finds elsewhere.

    @Mari: it would be.

    @Beth: I didn't try.

    @Randy: no, I've been in when there's been a trade show occupying all of it, and it's quite full at such times.

    @Kay: a lot of hotels here do the same with their convention spaces.

    @Linda: it could be!

    @Whisk: indeed!

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