Toronto Star ePaper

Time to tear down 24 Sussex Drive

TAYLOR C . NOAKES TAYLOR C. NOAKES I S AN I NDEPENDENT J OURNALIST AND PUBLIC HISTORIAN.

What I am about to say borders on sacrilege in my other profession (I’m a historic preservation consultant), but we’re running out of options: the time has come to knock down 24 Sussex Drive and build the prime minister a new house.

I say this although it is often less expensive to restore old buildings than build anew and it’s better for the environment as well.

However, 24 Sussex Drive was never intended to be the official residence of the prime minister, let alone the leader of a global power. Unlike the White House or 10 Downing Street, 24 Sussex is not a national icon: few Canadians know what it looks like and fewer still could name an important event that occurred there (aside from Aline Chrétien foiling an intruder). Distinct architectural features were removed in the late-1940s. Whether the building is historically significant is a matter of opinion. Unlike the aforementioned residences, 24 Sussex is not the prime minister’s office.

The crucial issue is that it will cost roughly as much to renovate 24 Sussex as it would to tear it down and build anew. The National Capital Commission (NCC) is looking at alternatives: back in April, the Star reported that the NCChad laid out preliminary plans for what a new official residence would require.

Recent news that the residence is being closed for health and safety reasons suggests that a decision is coming.

In advance of the inevitable, the government should create a trust to be administered by the NCC to ensure official residences are maintained and upgraded as necessary.

There may be aspects of 24 Sussex worth keeping. Where possible, present furnishings and finishings should be incorporated into the new residence.

If it’s possible to execute faithful recreations of some of the house’s rooms, all the better.

The opportunity should be taken to create a purpose-built executive residence, office, and official reception facility and do so in a distinctly Canadian fashion. It should reflect the styles and design trends that are characteristically Canadian as much as it should feature iconically Canadian materials. So much of what is ‘traditional’ in this country feels imported and imposed; the esthetics of another people from a bygone era.

The new residence should reflect us, as we are now, as we look to the future.

The opportunity here is not to build Justin Trudeau a new house, but to build a new symbol for all Canadians — we’re the one’s paying for it after all. A national competition of Canadian architects is a minimum requirement, though we should have a vote on it too. Perhaps we should even consider putting it in a more public place, somewhere closer to Parliament and more publicly accessible than any building at 24 Sussex Drive could ever be. Though this would require more security, it would also make the prime minister seem more publicly accessible, and this would be well worth considering given the growing perception of the PM as an out-of-touch elite.

The public consideration should extend as well to the potential of the new residence to influence housing design across Canada for many decades to come, and in this respect, the new residence should demonstrate the latest in sustainable building techniques and technologies.

The end product should be a netzero building whose design, construction, and features serve to influence sustainable housing development nationwide.

A final caveat: however much this new residence costs, a sum, comprised of new federal spending and equal to twice as much as the total final bill, should be allocated to the construction of new social housing in whichever Canadian city happens to have the greatest need.

The prime minister’s residence will be paid for by us and should therefore serve us. Building a new national symbol could be a valuable unifier at a time of increased national disharmony.

OPINION

en-ca

2022-11-29T08:00:00.0000000Z

2022-11-29T08:00:00.0000000Z

https://torontostar.pressreader.com/article/281827172782525

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