Description of Historic Place

Designed in a Tudor Gothic style, the Connaught Building is an imposing government office building faced in randomly coursed rusticated sandstone. It is embellished with turrets, a crenellated roofline, buttresses, an ogee arched entrance and rows of flat-headed windows accented by dressed quoins. Situated on Sussex Drive, the Connaught Building overlooks Parliament Hill. The designation is confined to the footprint of the building.

Heritage Value

The Connaught Building has been designated as a Classified Federal Heritage Building primarily because of its architectural significance. It represents one of the best works of David Ewart, chief architect of the Department of Public Works (1897-1914). It also has important historical associations with the development of a stronger federal presence in the capital, and continues to function as an important urban landmark.

Sources: Robert Hunter, Connaught Building, Ottawa, Ontario, Federal Heritage Building Review Office Building Report 87-039;Connaught Building, Ottawa, Ontario, Heritage Character Statement, 87-039.

Character-Defining Elements

Key elements that define the heritage character of the building include:

-the exterior elevations, which were designed in the modified Tudor Gothic style favoured by Ewart because of its compatibility with the Parliament Buildings and its associations with British precedent;
- the symmetry of the massing, which reflects an underlying Beaux-Arts layout;
-the highly articulated stonework, with its buttresses, corbelling, niches, carved embellishments, and elaborate window and door surrounds, and the doors and windows themselves;
-the wall finish, which is primarily of sandstone, with a granite plinth and Wallace stone detailing.