Place du Portage III Rehabilitation | In Progress

[J.OT13]

Feds present plans to overhaul Place du Portage III, expand capacity

Peter Kovessy, OBJ
Apr 23, 2020 12:28pm


The Place du Portage III office complex in Gatineau. (Photo by Óðinn / Wikimedia)

The federal government plans to significantly increase the number of civil servants working in a Gatineau office complex following a major rehabilitation of the aging building in the coming years, according to a National Capital Commission report.

Public Services and Procurement Canada wants to increase the density of Place du Portage III by 40 per cent so that it can accommodate 6,800 full-time employees, up from 4,773.

The structure has nearly 1.15 million square feet of office space, with another 462,000 square feet of parking and storage area, according to the building’s website.

The nine-tower complex, located just off the Portage Bridge, was built in the mid-1970s and currently acts as “a barrier between the riverfront and the downtown core of Gatineau,” the NCC says.

The planned rehabilitation would improve access to the building via Laurier Street, redesign landscaping elements and increase accessibility. The project would also include new exterior concrete cladding.


The proposed building envelope design of Place du Portage III.

Officials said construction is expected to start in 2021.

NCC board members were scheduled to receive a presentation of the Place du Portage plans on Thursday, according to a meeting agenda. While NCC board meetings are normally open to the public and streamed online, the April meeting was held via a closed videoconference due to COVID-19.

https://obj.ca/article/feds-present-plans-overhaul-place-du-portage-iii-expand-capacity

[J.OT13]

National Capital Commission
@NCC_CCN

Our Board approved the partial schematic design for renewal of the Place du Portage III complex. The project will preserve key heritage features while creating a modern working environment & updating the complex to meet today's sustainability targets and accessibility standards.

Full presentation can be found on NCC's website:

https://ncc-ccn.gc.ca/events/board-of-directors-meeting-april-2020

[J.OT13]

There are so many issues with cramming more people in one building. Situation like world pandemics aside, Office 3.0 creates an extremely uncomfortable environment. Talking on the phone is impossible. You have no where to put your stuff. It's an absolute killer of employee morale. People need their personal space.

Furthermore, in order to accommodate more people, we would need to add meeting space, common areas to relax and take breaks, proper kitchens and break rooms, enough washrooms to respect the current building code.

My partner works at C.D. Howe where they've been increasing the capacity for more and more workers, but have done NOTHING to increase common areas, kitchen space or even washrooms. Women have to wait in line to use the washroom!

Unless the feds want to spend billions on increasing the capacity of buildings and stress leave, they are better off investing those billions in new buildings with healthy work environments.

[J.OT13]

NCC Board meeting Presentation.

https://ncc-website-2.s3.amazonaws.com/d...II-presentation.pdf?mtime=20200423100928

[CityTech]

Originally Posted by J.OT13

There are so many issues with cramming more people in one building. Situation like world pandemics aside, Office 3.0 creates an extremely uncomfortable environment. Talking on the phone is impossible. You have no where to put your stuff. It's an absolute killer of employee morale. People need their personal space.

Furthermore, in order to accommodate more people, we would need to add meeting space, common areas to relax and take breaks, proper kitchens and break rooms, enough washrooms to respect the current building code.

My partner works at C.D. Howe where they've been increasing the capacity for more and more workers, but have done NOTHING to increase common areas, kitchen space or even washrooms. Women have to wait in line to use the washroom!

Unless the feds want to spend billions on increasing the capacity of buildings and stress leave, they are better off investing those billions in new buildings with healthy work environments.

I'm a private sector tech worker who sometimes works out of federal offices while on contracts (my company provides professional services to both government departments and private sector businesses), and it's jarring just how overloaded some government office buildings are. It's brutal.

[HomeInMyShoes]

Office 3 just exacerbates meeting space shortage in most buildings. I've worked in both types. Some work is great in type 3.0, but lots of work isn't.

[J.OT13]

Update from NCC Board Meeting, including more and better renderings.

Presentation: https://ncc-website-2.s3.amazonaws.com/d...tion.pdf?mtime=20210121102409&focal=none

Submission: https://ncc-website-2.s3.amazonaws.com/d...I-EN.pdf?mtime=20210121102432&focal=none

National Capital Commission
@NCC_CCN

Our Board has approved @PSPC_SPAC’s design for stage 1 of the renewal of the Place du Portage III complex. This project aims to transform the complex from being a barrier to creating a gateway between the river & #Gatineau’s historic downtown area.

Information source https://ncc-ccn.gc.ca/events/virtual-pub...021?utm_source=twitter&utm_medium=social



1:35 PM · Jan 21, 2021·Hootsuite Inc.

https://twitter.com/NCC_CCN/status/1352323844606980100

[J.OT13]

National Capital Commission
@NCC_CCN

The building rehabilitation will preserve heritage features, create a modern working environment and update the building to meet today’s sustainability targets and accessibility standards.

Info: https://ncc-ccn.gc.ca/events/virtual-public-board-of-directors-meeting-january-2021 | #Ottawa #Gatineau



1:45 PM · Jan 21, 2021·Hootsuite Inc.

https://twitter.com/NCC_CCN/status/1352326345632739330

[J.OT13]

Massive improvment, particularly ground level circulation around the building to Vieux Hull and through new ground level entrances which will greatly improve accessibility to the future STO Tram.

[Harley613]

Between this and the Terrasses de la Chaudiere revamp, Hull's skyline is going to go from an eyesore to perfectly fine...except for the shit paper plant right smack dab in the middle of it, but I guess that won't change any time soon.

[J.OT13]

Originally Posted by Harley613

Between this and the Terrasses de la Chaudiere revamp, Hull's skyline is going to go from an eyesore to perfectly fine...except for the shit paper plant right smack dab in the middle of it, but I guess that won't change any time soon.

Add the layering of Zibi towers, and the skyline will be quite different within 5-10 years.

I'm a little worried for Terrasses though. I kind of like the redish-brown brick of today. The proposed revamp has too many shades of white, black and grey. I wish they would maintain the brick on some of the lower buildings.

[Harley613]

Originally Posted by J.OT13

Add the layering of Zibi towers, and the skyline will be quite different within 5-10 years.

I'm a little worried for Terrasses though. I kind of like the redish-brown brick of today. The proposed revamp has too many shades of white, black and grey. I wish they would maintain the brick on some of the lower buildings.

I think it has a lot of potential IF they use quality materials.

[J.OT13]

The different colours for each block will help. Wait and see.

Here's an image of the new entrance to Portage III, lowering them down to ground level. Some of the interesting brutalist features will be removed, but overall a huge improvement in terms of accessibility and street interaction.


https://twitter.com/rakerman/status/1352354852479918080/photo/1

[phil235]

Originally Posted by J.OT13

The different colours for each block will help. Wait and see.

Here's an image of the new entrance to Portage III, lowering them down to ground level. Some of the interesting brutalist features will be removed, but overall a huge improvement in terms of accessibility and street interaction.

I'm all for this. I can't tell you how many times I've wandered around the perimeter of that building trying to find a way in to the passport office. I never seem to be able to find the same way in.

[J.OT13]

Place du Portage IV Exit Stairs

onstruction of a new exterior building structure: a 12 Story exit stairwell integrated into the exterior of the building for capacity remediation as well as a 4 story interior stairwell. The stairwell will be accessible through each of the 12 floors and integrated into existing building systems. The exterior stairwell will be made of glass with bird frit that meets CSA and NCC standards as well as steel structural construction. Structural work will be required with micro piles and the structure secured into the existing building. Minor soil disruption will take place to install the micropiles as well as removal of small planter boxes on the PDP IV property which house some small trees.



This Project aims to increase exit capacity at Place du Portage, Phase IV (PDP IV) in support of space densification resulting from GC Workplace fit-up of administrative spaces. The tenant is in the process of updating floors within PDP IV with GC Workplace standards. For these fit-ups to occur, the exit capacity of this building must be increased so that all occupants can exit the building safely and conform to all fire and safety regulations as stipulated in the National Building Code (NBCC) and other regulatory codes.

https://iaac-aeic.gc.ca/050/evaluations/proj/81643

[GeoNerd]

Some ground work/tree removal has started.

[frenchie-archi]

Originally Posted by J.OT13

There are so many issues with cramming more people in one building. Situation like world pandemics aside, Office 3.0 creates an extremely uncomfortable environment. Talking on the phone is impossible. You have no where to put your stuff. It's an absolute killer of employee morale. People need their personal space.

Furthermore, in order to accommodate more people, we would need to add meeting space, common areas to relax and take breaks, proper kitchens and break rooms, enough washrooms to respect the current building code.

My partner works at C.D. Howe where they've been increasing the capacity for more and more workers, but have done NOTHING to increase common areas, kitchen space or even washrooms. Women have to wait in line to use the washroom!

Unless the feds want to spend billions on increasing the capacity of buildings and stress leave, they are better off investing those billions in new buildings with healthy work environments.

--- Which are all things that have been considered in the project ! Wait and see before assuming that the professionals mandated on the project and the overall team are incompetent.

[rocketphish]

Originally Posted by frenchie-archi

--- Which are all things that have been considered in the project ! Wait and see before assuming that the professionals mandated on the project and the overall team are incompetent.

Welcome to the forum!

[J.OT13]

Originally Posted by frenchie-archi

--- Which are all things that have been considered in the project ! Wait and see before assuming that the professionals mandated on the project and the overall team are incompetent.

Hope you're right, but based what I've seen from the Feds in the past, I remain skeptical.

[GeoNerd]

Crane is up.