ARTH3810 2019F Class Projects (Publication) Main Menu The Tent Room at Rideau Hall Kyle Kreutner, Page 1 of 6 The Webley Shacks: Unconventional Furniture Use in the Context of Ceaseless Surveillance Jose Bawagan Imperial Theater By Munawar Mobin Keagan F - CSTM Sound History Introduction The Mayfair Theatre Simran S. An Investigation of Hospital Interiors Effect on Patients 144 Loretta Avenue North, Aidan MacNaull Aidan MacNaull 144 Loretta Avenue North West Block - Canada's New House of Commons by Devon Rudyk Rideau Street Chapel: The Effects of Relocation on the Experience of an Interior by Ty Follis The Church of St. Andrew's Ottawa David Bastien-Allard Making the Past Present: Union Station Restoration – A Political Facelift? by Vivian Astroff Delegation of the Ismali Imamat The National Arts Centre: Reflecting on its Past and Present Saint Paul University - A Shift in Values Reem Siage Film in Ottawa: The Mayfair theatre by Giovanna Maria Sang CGM -An Investigation of Hospital Interiors Effect on Patients The Chateau Laurier By Jessica El-Ghazal Reusable Space: The Senate of Canada Building by Syenne Holder National Gallery of Canada - Seeing the Colonnade Through a Semiological Lens by Ricky Tong Ricky THE OTTAWA STATION Ehidiamen Iyamabo, HomePage

The Senate Chamber

35816 Conclusion Syenne Holder - P4
The current Senate Chamber is located inside Ottawa Union Station's Concourse. Iconically known as the Red Chamber ("Senate Virtual Tour" 2019), the current Senate Chamber is set up very similar to the previous arrangement. The progression to the chamber is less noticeable from the Waiting Room, but with views to the exterior and the Rideau Canal on the way the journey is almost celebrated. The Chamber seating arrangement was influenced from the Palace of Westminster in London, England. The 105 seats of the Senate are placed on either side along the length of the space, with the main seat for the Speaker and Governor General in the centre at the end of the space. Nationalism is an important theme of this room. As a tour guide explained, the idea is that everywhere one looks they should be reminded of being in Canada. Symmetry is also a visible theme of the space to represent the order and authority that the Senate holds. Fourteen gold plates represent Canada's thirteen provinces and territories, and one decorative plate was added just to keep the symmetry. In the vestibule at the entrance of the chamber, there is a bust of James Gladstone, the first Indigenous senator, and Marianna Beauchamp Jodoin, the first Francophone woman senator, both of whom made important contributions to Canada's history ("Senate Virtual Tour" 2019). The use of red is a direct connection to Canada's flag, which is further elaborated with a maple leaf pattern on the carpets, but it is also a colour of royalty, symbolizing the authority of the Crown in the house of Parliament ("Senate Virtual Tour" 2019). The second level of the space holds public seats for the people and press during conferences. A frosted glass railing lines the edge of this level so people can see everything that happens below, an important feature to achieve transparency in the government, which the Senate aims for. Although the space is mostly an addition to the concourse, features of the original concourse are still present. The space still has the barrel-vaulted coffered ceiling, similar to the Waiting Room, and the skylight in the centre is also still present. The adjacent Senate conference rooms also continue the themes of symmetry and nationalism. Arranged like a typical business conference room, the seats are situated in a symmetrical rectilinear plan, and red walls decorated with interchangeable cultural paintings, images, and a permanent apology letter addressed to the Indigenous people of Canada represent the cultural values of the country. 

In the Centre Block, the entrance leading to the chamber from the Senate Foyer is highly ornamented with intricate stone carvings as a way to emphasize the importance of the space within and draw visitors towards it. The use of bright red carpet, to imply the same nationalist meaning, and wood wall panels are also a big contrast to the less saturated grey tones of the previous space which also attracts the eye. The two busts of James Gladstone and Marianna Beauchamp Jodoin were located in the vestibule before the chamber, just like their current location ("Senate Virtual Tour" 2019). Inside the Chamber, the seating is arranged the same for the senators and the Speaker, as mentioned, but the public seating is located at the ends perpendicular to the 105 seats rather than parallel to them. The width of the space appears narrower compared to the current location, but the length elongates the chamber further. Along the walls above the senators' seats, there are large paintings of historic war events, which represent Canada's involvement in World War I ("Senate Virtual Tour" 2019). The walls of the space are covered with intricate carvings in the wood and stone, and the gold finished ceilings all evoke a sense of importance and class to the space. Similar to the Senate Foyer, the ceiling of the Chamber is coffered with octagonal shapes and decorated with paintings of European cultures. To the east of the Chamber, there is a wing of private offices and rooms for the Senate. These rooms also continue the aesthetics of the Chamber to demonstrate the connections between the spaces. 

Both Senate Chambers carry the synonymous meanings through the arrangement of the furniture. The tradition of the senators, the Speaker, and the Governor General's seats continue in both spaces, and the notions of symmetry and nationalism are present in both. Similar to the previous interior, the Waiting Room and Foyer, the current Senate Chamber uses objects directly connected to Canada, like the provincial and territorial plates and the maple leaf patterned carpet, while the previous Senate Chamber uses objects indirectly connected to Canada, like the World War I paintings and red carpet that reference Canada as well as Europe. Both spaces allow for transparency in the system through the particular placement of public seating, but since the public seating in the current Chamber surrounds the whole space the people are more involved than being located at the far ends in the previous Chamber. Although the general layout and ideas are continued between the Chambers, the specific objects in the space can expose deeper ideas to the connotations of each space. 

This page has paths:

  1. From Interior to Interior Syenne Holder

This page references: