FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Ottawa, ON – The Royal Architectural Institute of Canada (RAIC) welcomes today’s announcement by the Government of Canada launching a national competition for the rehabilitation and renewal of 24 Sussex Drive, the official residence of the Prime Minister of Canada.

As Canada’s national voice for architecture and the built environment, the RAIC will support Public Services and Procurement Canada in administration of a competition process designed to identify an exceptional Canadian-led team capable of renewing one of the country’s most significant heritage properties.

For more than seventy-five years, 24 Sussex Drive has served as both a residence and a symbol of public service, national leadership, and Canadian democracy. Its renewal presents a rare opportunity to demonstrate how thoughtful design, stewardship, sustainability, accessibility, and innovation can work together in service of future generations.

“Canadians rightly expect their leaders to take decisions where the benefits may only be realised long after they are in office. Good stewardship demands it, Canadians rightly expect it, and the future of our institutions depends on us leaving them better than we found them. We will restore 24 Sussex Drive to a standard worthy of the country it serves,” said Prime Minister Carney.

“The opportunity to renew 24 Sussex Drive comes only once in a generation,” said Johanna Hurme, FRAIC, President Elect of the Royal Architectural Institute of Canada. “By inviting Canada’s leading multidisciplinary teams to compete through an independent and transparent process, this initiative will showcase the design excellence, creativity, innovation, and expertise that define Canadian architecture and engineering. The RAIC is honoured to help support a competition process that is fair, rigorous, and worthy of one of Canada’s most significant public projects.”

The competition will be guided by principles long championed by the RAIC: design excellence, transparency, fairness, public accountability, and the use of independent expert juries. These principles have helped shape some of Canada’s most important public projects and continue to represent international best practices for major civic and institutional developments.

“Canada has a proud tradition of using design competitions to achieve outstanding public architecture,” said Mike Brennan, Chief Executive Officer of the RAIC. “Projects of national significance deserve processes that attract the country’s best talent and inspire public confidence. The renewal of 24 Sussex Drive provides an opportunity to bring together architects, engineers, heritage specialists, landscape architects, and construction professionals in pursuit of a solution that honours Canada’s past while serving its future.”

The RAIC will provide advice on the competition process and assist in establishing an independent jury comprised of distinguished experts and respected Canadians. The jury will independently evaluate design submissions and recommend the preferred design.

The Institute has extensive experience supporting architectural competitions and independent design review processes for projects of national significance, including work within Canada’s Parliamentary Precinct and other landmark public initiatives.

The RAIC looks forward to supporting a competition process that reflects the highest standards of professionalism, integrity, and design excellence while helping ensure that 24 Sussex Drive once again serves Canadians with distinction.

About the Royal Architectural Institute of Canada

The Royal Architectural Institute of Canada is the national voice for architecture and the built environment in Canada. The RAIC advocates for excellence in design, supports professional development, promotes sustainable and inclusive communities, and advances the role of architects in shaping a better future for all Canadians.

Media Contact

Royal Architectural Institute of Canada
communications@raic.org
www.raic.org

Media Questions and Answers

RAIC Media Q&A
24 Sussex Drive Design Competition

1. Why was the RAIC selected to oversee this competition?

The Royal Architectural Institute of Canada has extensive experience providing independent professional advisory services and supporting architectural design competitions for projects of national significance. Our role is to help ensure the competition is conducted using recognized professional standards that emphasize fairness, transparency, design excellence, and independent expert evaluation.

2. What exactly is the RAIC’s role?

The RAIC is responsible for advising on and supporting the competition process. This includes supporting the competition by assembling an independent multidisciplinary jury  and ensuring submissions are evaluated against the published criteria. The RAIC does not make the final project decision.

3. Is the RAIC designing 24 Sussex?

No. The RAIC is not the architect, designer or owner of the project. Our responsibility is to support an independent design competition that allows qualified multidisciplinary teams to compete through a fair and professionally managed process.

4. Who chooses the winning design?

An independent jury of distinguished professionals will evaluate the submissions and recommend the highest-ranked design proposal to the Government of Canada. The RAIC supports the process and supports the jury but does not determine the outcome.  Public Services and Procurement Canada will assess all aspects of the submissions, including the findings of the jury to make a final decision, in line with published evaluation criteria.

5. How does the jury remain independent?

All jurors are selected for their expertise and are required to comply with strict conflict-of-interest and confidentiality requirements. The jury evaluates submissions independently using published evaluation criteria and professional judgment.

6. Why use a design competition instead of hiring an architect directly?

Design competitions encourage innovation by allowing multiple teams to develop solutions to the same challenge. For nationally significant projects they provide an objective process that compares competing ideas before a preferred solution is selected.

7. Why is this project important?

24 Sussex Drive is one of Canada’s most recognizable public buildings and an important part of the country’s architectural and democratic heritage. The competition provides an opportunity to identify an exceptional solution for its renewal.

Additional Responses

Does the RAIC have experience managing projects like this?

Yes. The RAIC has supported architectural competitions and independent design review processes for nationally significant public projects across Canada. This experience allows the Institute to provide a structured, impartial and professionally managed competition process.

Is the RAIC being paid by the Government?

The RAIC has been retained under a professional services contract to administer the competition and provide advisory services. As with other Government of Canada professional services contracts, the contractual arrangements are managed through federal procurement processes.

How does the RAIC avoid conflicts of interest?

The RAIC follows established competition protocols that include conflict-of-interest declarations, confidentiality requirements, independent jury deliberations and clearly defined competition procedures designed to protect the integrity of the process.

Has the winning architect already been chosen?

No. The purpose of the competition is to identify the strongest proposal through an independent evaluation process after submissions have been received and assessed against the published criteria.