The latest stage in the on-going $225 million rejuvenation of Ottawa’s National Arts Centre by Diamond Schmitt Architects employs light as an architectural element. Inspired by traditional Japanese lanterns as well as the use of light and video in monuments like the Arc de Triomphe and even Yad Vashem, the Kipnes Lantern (named for its generous patrons) is a three storey, hexagonal glass tower, positioned above the new Elgin Street entrance, featuring the largest transparent LED screen in North America.
Originally, the brutalist 1969 Fred Lebensold-designed structure was conceived in concrete, with a rigourous geometry as a series of stunted towers that reference the surrounding rugged terrain of craggy escarpments and Canadian Shield. In keeping with the architects' concept of opening up the building, the lantern will act as a device for illumination, transparency and community engagement. Acting as a ‘fifth stage’ for the venerable arts centre (designated as a national historic site in 2006), the lantern is a literal and figurative beacon, opening up the national cultural symbol to new possibilities.
While the old NAC suffered from a bunker-like insularity, effectively turning its back on the city, the new lantern element will continue the process of connection with nearby Confederation Square, the Rideau Canal and the Parliament Buildings. ‘The unique see-through technology of the screen complements the transparency established in the new public wings that enwrap the NAC and provide connection with downtown Ottawa and outstanding views of nearby landmarks,’ says Donald Schmitt, principal of Diamond Schmitt Architects. In addition to the transparent digital screens on four sides of the Lantern, Vancouver’s ClearLED has also designed smaller fin screens along the Elgin Street façade.
NAC CEO Peter Herrndorf sees the Kipnes Lantern, which will display NAC productions as well as work being done across Canada, as ‘a beacon for the performing arts, showcasing the breadth and excellence of the music, theatre and dance being produced across Canada’. While striking a sober balance with nearby national monuments, the Lantern will also be a touchstone for light and video programs to complement national holidays.
Like an aesthetic Canadian superhero that doesn’t overwhelm its more traditional neighbours, the NAC Lantern reads like a national light box – both a screen for and a reflection of the best of Canadian culture.
The structure was inspired by Japanese lanterns and is named for its generous patron.
Kipnes Lantern is a three story, hexagonal glass tower, positioned above the new Elgin Street entrance.
The lantern will act as a device for illumination, transparency and community engagement.
The transparent nature of the glass structure symbolises the opening up of the centre to the public.
The Lantern will act as a touchstone for light and video programs during national holidays.
At the same time, the transparency creates a bright and welcoming space inside for the gallery.
The addition also features the largest transparent LED screen in North America.
INFORMATION
For more information visit the DSAI website
-
Ashlyn, the quietly romantic New York label from a Yohji Yamamoto alumnaThe focus of our latest Uprising column, Seoul-born Ashlyn Park worked for fashion greats before starting her own label in 2020. Showing her S/S 2026 collection at NYFW yesterday, she talks to Wallpaper* about marrying Japanese influences with the romance of Parisian savoir-faire
-
'There is no way light and darkness are not in exchange with each other': step inside Christelle Oyiri’s sonic world in BerlinIn an explosion of light and sound, Christelle Oyiri explores celebrity, mythology and religion inside CANK, a former brutalist shopping centre in Berlin’s Neukölln
-
A family home turns into an immersive exhibition space for London Design FestivalCeramicist Emma Louise Payne displays design in domestic surrounds for group show ‘The Objects We Live By’
-
La Maison de la Baie de l’Ours melds modernism into the shores of a Québécois lakeACDF Architecture’s grand family retreat in Quebec offers a series of flowing living spaces and private bedrooms beneath a monumental wooden roof
-
Peel back maple branches to reveal this cosy midcentury Vancouver gemOsler House, a midcentury Vancouver home, has been refreshed by Scott & Scott Architects, who wanted to pay tribute to the building's 20th-century modernist roots
-
A spectacular waterside house in Canada results from a radical overhaulSplyce Design’s Shoreline House occupies an idyllic site in British Columbia. Refurbished and updated, the structure has been transformed into a waterside retreat
-
Hilborn House, one of Arthur Erickson’s few residential projects, is now on the marketThe home, first sketched on an envelope at Montreal Airport, feels like a museum of modernist shapes, natural materials and indoor-outdoor living
-
This Canadian house is a precise domestic composition perched on the Nova Scotian coastBishop McDowell completed a new Canadian house overlooking the Atlantic, using minimal details and traditional forms to create a refined family home
-
In Canada, The Nest is a three-dimensional puzzle redefining remote livingOn a wooded site on the country’s West Coast, this prefabricated retreat designed by Daria Sheina Studio is a nurturing space for low-impact living
-
Discover Canadian modernist Daniel Evan White’s pitch-perfect homesCanadian architect Daniel Evan White (1933-2012) had a gift for using the landscape to create extraordinary homes; revisit his story in an article from the Wallpaper* archives (first published in 2011)
-
A new Québec house blends open-plan living with far-reaching viewsThe Mountainside Residence is anchored into its sloping site by a concrete plinth, above which sits a main living space with tall ceilings and walls of glass
