About this Event
Join ORSA for a building tour at Tunney's Pasture Energy Centre + Tunney’s Pumphouse, guided by Derek Hardy, Project Director at bbb architects Ottawa Inc. .
The Tunney's Pasture Energy Centre represents a new approach to the design of critical public infrastructure, demonstrating how a highly technical utility facility can contribute to the community, civic, and environmental goals of a major federal campus redevelopment. Delivered as part of the Energy Services Acquisition Program (ESAP), the facility serves as a key node within the National Capital Region's modernized district energy network while simultaneously advancing the long-term vision for Tunney's Pasture.
Rather than treating the energy centre as a conventional industrial building, the project team reimagined the facility as an integrated component of the public realm. The design embeds much of the plant below grade, allowing the landscape to extend seamlessly across the site and onto a publicly accessible rooftop park. The result is a building that conceals much of its industrial scale while creating new connections between surrounding open spaces, pedestrian routes, and future campus development.
Approximately 500 metres to the north, the project also includes the modernization of the existing 1960s Tunney's Pasture Pumphouse, a board-formed concrete structure that remains an important component of the district energy system. Reclad with a contemporary porcelain façade and complemented by a renovated public rooftop garden, the pumphouse establishes a visual and material connection to the Energy Centre, creating a cohesive architectural language across the campus while reinforcing the broader transformation of essential energy infrastructure into a public-facing civic asset.
Meeting Spot:
251 Colombine Driveway, Ottawa, ON, K1Y 4Y9
(NW corner, at the Pavilion entry doors)
Event Schedule:
4:00 Meet at the entry plaza near the Tunney’s Pasture Energy Centre offices main door (NW corner).
Walk the interior of the PSPC and Equans head offices, boardrooms and the Mezzanine Level with views into the operating Boiler Room.
Plant access is restricted to staff with PPE.
4:30 Walk the exterior, large format porcelain with sloped glass walls offering views into the Chiller Room,
Circle the block to approach the roof gardens and promenade concealing the plant from the south
5:00 to 5:30 Walk to Tunney’s Pumphouse near Remic Rapids (about 10 minutes);
Explore the renovated 1960 board-formed concrete structure with new porcelain cladding, new roof garden and views over the River.
6:00 Refreshments at Braumeister Bierhalle at 175 Carruthers Ave. (about 15 minutes walk).
Event venue & nearby stays
Tunney's Pasture Energy Centre, 251 Colombine Driveway, Ottawa, Canada
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