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Smaller, glassy addition for Château Laurier revealed in new design

Source: Jon Willing, Ottawa Citizen
Date: February 8, 2018.

The owner of the Château Laurier revealed a new, glassy design for its proposed addition on Thursday, hoping a scaled-down concept will win over critics.

The eight-storey addition on the north side of the historic hotel would have 171 long-term accommodation suites, compared to the original concept that had 11 and 12 storeys, and 218 suites. The number of parking spots in the proposed five-level underground garage is 370, down from the 385 in the previous design.

The architecture, the creation of Peter Clewes of architectsAlliance, has changed significantly from the previous design made public in 2016. It’s a clear break from the current limestone-and-copper hotel design, but there are elements that pay homage to the old building, such as the rosette pattern in the glass as seen in the ballroom coffered ceilings.

A glass corridor would stretch along the north-facing edge of the addition. An open-air courtyard would allow the hotel to open glass doors into another function space. The new addition would have a green roof.

The new layout has meeting rooms on the ground floor instead of suites.

Art Phillips, the director of development at Larco, said the addition would let the hotel host an event of up to 1,200 people, where the current building can handle only 450.

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