University students show creativity with Chateau Laurier designs

A Professor at Carleton University School of Architecture recently asked his third-year students to come up with design ideas for the Chateau Laurier Expansion.

This provided a unique opportunity to expand on creativity in their field, as students were tasked to work with older structures.

“This really fills up this middle space where you draw from both current modern ideas and historical ideas you are adding to,” said Peter Coffman, Supervisor of Carleton's History and Theory of Architecture program

He added, “every one of the designs studied the Chateau carefully, and took two or three visual ideas from the Chateau that they figured were crucial or fundamental from that building.”

Eight designs were submitted by students, even though there is little chance these ideas will be used, as the City has already approved a design pitched by the Chateau Laurier's parent company, Larco Investments Inc., back in 2016.

However, Coffman said it is possible this can generate discussion on how the city can approach re-designing heritage buildings in the future.