Lightness

Some of you might remember this building from last year- click Aga Khan in the tags below if you want to see the previous posts. This is the Delegation of the Ismaili Imamat, part of the Aga Khan Development Network. The building was designed by Japanese architect Fumihiko Maki, and includes residential quarters for the Aga Khan, but is mostly reception and working space for the Canadian operations of the philanthropic organization. The use of glass, shadow, light, and metal mesh screens in the central reception space is a visual delight, as is the courtyard garden.

Orthodox

Christ The Saviour Orthodox Church is in Chinatown, and was my first stop during Doors Open. The church has its roots in two congregations, the oldest one dating back nearly a century with its roots from immigrants out of the old Hapsburg empire. The current church building was constructed here in 1968, and a neighbouring building, a former fire hall dating back to 1913, now serves as the church hall. Some of the iconography from the older church resides in the church hall, as seen in the final photo. The sanctuary itself is very different from churches that I'm used to, filled with iconography, which is typical of the Orthodox branch of Christianity. The priest was on hand when I got in, and mentioned that while services are in English, the worshipers come from several language backgrounds, so he recites things like the Lord's Prayer in those languages during a service. 

Inner View

A reminder to members of City Daily Photo, the theme day for July 1st is Look Down.

Passing through to the west end of the Heritage Building brings us to the offices associated with the mayor, which includes space for staff and a conference room.

There are paintings to be found in that conference room by two members of the Group of Seven. The first is Algoma Country, by Lawren Harris, an oil painting.

The second, by A.Y. Jackson, is Pickerel Weeds, Split Rock Island, Georgian Bay. The Firestone family, which deeded these paintings and others to the city, were fond of the Group's works.

A more recent acrylic painting hangs in this area, by local artist Katerina Mertikas. Honouring My Father depicts the War Memorial. This was painted in the aftermath of the shooting of Corporal Nathan Cirillo in October 2014, featuring father and son together.

And here is the office space of the mayor himself, who was not present at the time.

In City Hall

I stopped by City Hall downtown on the Sunday during Doors Open. The property has three different buildings on it- the Heritage Building, which you can see here in the foreground, the provincial courthouse, which can be glimpsed in the background, and the more modern structure that houses many municipal offices and the council chambers. In this first shot, I'm on the footbridge connecting the Heritage Building to the office wing. The dots you can see on the windows are new- they're meant as a countermeasure to prevent birds from knocking into the glass.

There are board rooms and offices in the Heritage Building, which is of high Victorian design; it was once a school. There are ghost stories associated with this building, a teacher who still walks the halls late at night, footsteps echoing in the halls when guards are all alone. I have more from here tomorrow.

By The Lake

Down at Dow's Lake, there is a portion of property that belongs to the military. In the last few years the buildings on the property, which dated back to the Second World War and were named after a ship of that time, were torn down to be completely replaced by new facilities. The new main building was open as part of Doors Open, and it is the building still named for that ship, the HMCS Carleton. This was on the Sunday of the weekend, which turned out to be a rain soaked day. While I didn't take part in the tour, I did spend some time in the front area of the building, photographing a few uniforms and artifacts on display for the occasion. The new building has something of a naval feel, which is appropriate, as these grounds are used as a training and logistics facility for the Navy Reserve.

First Baptist

First Baptist Church is downtown, with its origins dating back to 1877. It is built in the Gothic Revival style, and was attended by Prime Minister Alexander Mackenzie, who worshiped here when he was in the city. Mackenzie in fact laid the cornerstone for the church.

In The Library

On Sparks Street, in the former main Ottawa branch of the Bank Of Nova Scotia, the building hosts an annex of the Library Of Parliament, which is routinely open for Doors Open. The building is in the Beaux-Arts style, and incorporates Canadian themes and symbols in its architecture. It was taken on by the government years ago, renovated, with the space inside a mix of the original architecture and modern archive infrastructure. The Library serves Parliamentarians and their staff, so while it's a block south of the Hill, it fulfills an important purpose for Parliament to run smoothly. This is the only general access that the public get to the building. During this visit, I went into two rooms- the former office of the bank manager, now a comfortable space, and the main interior, where staff were on hand to answer questions. I like the contrast between the architecture and the shelving infrastructure.

Opened Door

Today I'm starting my series on Doors Open, the weekend event that took place here on the fourth and fifth of June. This event has been going on in Ottawa for fifteen years, and presented over 130 sites for the public to come and visit, making it the second largest annual architectural event in North America. I won't be going in chronological order with these posts, so for some posts you'll see a mix of sun and clouds, which we had on the Saturday, or rainy conditions that we had on the Sunday.

The Malaysian High Commission is in Lowertown, close to a number of other embassies. A High Commission, for those who don't know, is the same thing as an embassy, but is the term used in countries that are both part of the Commonwealth. The building dates back to the 1960s, hence its unusual architecture (I was reminded of a mushroom), and was used as offices for L'Association Canadienne-Francais de L'Ontario at first. The Malaysian government purchased it in the 1970s. This is the first time I've ever been on the property, though I pass by on occasion. The place was busy- they had a Malaysian food festival going on as well- and staff were on hand to take questions. There were also displays of traditional Malaysian attire inside.

The last two shots are not from Doors Open, but from yesterday, though both buildings participated in the event this year (I never seem to make it to the registration list in time for the embassy). I thought they fit well here, given that the reason for coming down was also diplomatic, if more sombre. I went down to the U.S. Embassy yesterday to sign one of the books of condolences for the victims of the Orlando shootings. I liked the way the embassy and the Connaught Building contrasted, and that the embassy was flying the American and Pride flags at half staff, as well as hanging a Pride flag off the glass. The embassy staff had things running smoothly as people came in to sign the books, and while I was in there, there were at least two ambassadors from other countries- and probably as many as six- in the line.