Acclaimed architect Moshe Safdie listens as Prime Minister Mark Carney announces a plan to restore 24 Sussex Drive, June 26.Patrick Doyle/Reuters
The acclaimed Canadian architect who will lead the jury that decides the future of 24 Sussex Dr. says significant change is coming for the official prime ministerial residence, which has sat vacant for 11 years because of its dilapidated condition.
Moshe Safdie, who has designed buildings ranging from the National Gallery in Ottawa to Terminal One at Pearson International Airport over his long career, said in an interview Tuesday that he envisions greatly expanded usefulness for the building that has been home to nine Canadian prime ministers, from Louis St. Laurent to Stephen Harper, since 1951.
Mr. Harper is the most recent prime minister to have lived in the home, which had fallen into such disrepair that Justin Trudeau declined to move in with his family in 2015. Instead, the Trudeaus lived in Rideau Cottage on the grounds of Rideau Hall, and Prime Minister Mark Carney has followed suit.
Speaking to JOBFlocks over video chat, Mr. Safdie, 88, was asked to what degree the home, built between 1866 and 1868 as a private residence and later procured by the government for prime ministers’ use, could remain as it is.
“Even if you decided to reproduce the building in whole, you would be doing things to the site that will change it from just being what Sussex was in the past,” Mr. Safdie said.
“Change is coming and I think change is inevitable,” he continued. “This building, one hopes, is there for a long, long time, and needs to accommodate more than what Sussex had in the past.”
At the very least, Mr. Safdie said there is a need for a separate building on the site to accommodate social events held by the prime minister.
He said the goal is “not a restoration of a historic building per se,” but rather, finding a way for the site to serve multiple purposes, including housing prime ministers and their families, providing ceremonial spaces and hosting social functions.
Mr. Safdie is the founding principal of Safdie Architects. The Israeli, Canadian and American citizen has left his mark around the world. Early on, he designed Habitat 67 in Montreal, followed by such buildings as Jewel Changi Airport in Singapore, Vancouver Library Square and the Montreal Museum of Fine Arts.
He will not shape the overhaul of 24 Sussex himself, but rather is leading a jury assembled by the Royal Architectural Institute of Canada to select a proposal for the project. Mr. Carney announced the process in June on the front steps of 24 Sussex, with Mr. Safdie at his side.
Mr. Safdie said the Prime Minister personally reached out to offer him the role. “I said it would be an honour, that I think it’s a very significant project,” the architect said.
He said that since he has lived in Canada, he has met every serving Canadian prime minister, but never inside the house. As part of the design process, he said, he went through 24 Sussex in its current, “gutted” state.
The house had showed signs of physical decay from the 1990s onward; a 1995 break-in, during Jean Chrétien’s occupancy, also raised concerns about security risks. But successive governments, wary of the political risk that might come with costly renovations, held off on dealing with the issues, which ranged from mould and asbestos to rodent infestations. In 2023, the National Capital Commission gutted the building, removing its furnishings and finishes.
“It’s architecturally not a significant historic building,” Mr. Safdie said. “It has the patina of history and the history of its recent use by prime ministers.”
Still, he spoke with respect and affection about what 24 Sussex represents to Canada.
“I would encourage architects to look at this as a significant element in the identity of Canada and the capital,” he said. “In other words, this is a building that should work well and efficiently in all of the things we associate with its function.
“At the same time, this building has to rise above that to become – and I think that it’s important to think of it as – a timeless design, not something that would fall away and feel dated.”
The competition is seeking a team to design and build the restored 24 Sussex, meaning architects, developers and builders will work together to advance the winning proposal. The Rideau Hall Foundation in Ottawa is raising $50-million toward the project’s costs. Mr. Carney has said the federal government will cover the cost of security.
Mr. Safdie said he is being compensated on an hourly basis by the RAIC for his role, but added, “I would happily do it pro bono.”
Asked about advice to those preparing bids now, the architect said it’s important for “good chemistry” to exist among the teams committed to the project.
“The formulation of the teams is of significance in terms of being able to work with someone that encourages you and inspires you because they appreciate the gravitas of the assignment,” he said.
Mr. Safdie also said he is confident that the project can be executed on budget because the proposals must include a financial breakdown, and the builder will be part of the process.
“In design-build, you receive a design with the price attached, and the contractor-developer is committing to build it for that price,” he explained.
“One of the interesting issues will be there will be some variation in prices. This is not a competition where the lowest price automatically wins. Price is a factor but not the only one and so that just adds to the complexity of the selection process, but the design-build has a much better track record of being completed on time because the contractor’s input is already a part of the design process.”
Mr. Safdie said he loves the location of 24 Sussex, overlooking the Ottawa River, with its dramatic views.
“In terms of the design of the building, it should grow out of the specifics of that site in this city, in Canada,” he said. “It should be inspired by what’s specific to the building.”