With its wide windowless walls and sharp geometric angles, the National Arts Centre sets itself apart from its 19th-century neighbours in the heart of Ottawa.
The building occupies an entire block on Elgin Street, just north of Ottawa City Hall and across Wellington Street from the Chateau Laurier and Parliament Hill’s East Block.
Shaped like a hexagon, the building’s brown pebbled concrete surface is divided in places with grid-like grooves and long vertical windows. A number of interlocking balconies overlook the Rideau Canal to the east.
Inside, the hexagon motif is repeated in the shape of the staircases and the angles of the three balconies in Southam Hall, the largest of the NAC’s four theatres, which is capable of hosting audiences of more than 2,300 people.
The multi-storey complex is over a million square feet in size and houses a 950-car parking garage and restaurant. It is one of the biggest performing arts centres in Canada, and contains one of the largest stages in North America.
The NAC has been home to a wide range of musical, dance and theatre acts, including the 61-member National Arts Centre Orchestra. The building also contains over 130 pieces of Canadian contemporary art. As well as showcasing Canadian and international artists, the centre aims to promote the development of performing arts across Canada.
The NAC, which opened June 2, 1969, was the main project of the federal government to celebrate the country’s centenary.
The building was designed by Fred Lebensold, a Polish immigrant who also constructed theatres in Vancouver, Montreal and New York.