Safdie’s expansion turns a sober civic office into a crystalline object—International Style meets ceremonial-route theatre.
Office building in Ottawa, Canada.
Featured in Moshe Safdie's definitive monograph, Moshe Safdie: Architecture of Memory.
Visitor Guide
Walk it from multiple angles: the building changes dramatically across the bridge and along Sussex Drive—look for the glass pyramid forms punching out of heavier stone/concrete language.
From Sussex Drive bridge (northwest view toward 111 Sussex), late afternoon for strong contrast between the older 1958 mass and the later Safdie intervention.
Primarily a government office building; not a standard tourist interior. Public access is most realistic when attending a conference/event hosted in the building’s event facilities; otherwise treat it as an exterior architecture stop.
It’s a rare case where you can read two civic eras in one frame: mid-century International Style discipline plus a 1990s Safdie vocabulary of light-catching geometry.
20–40 minutes
Design & Structure
Addition-as-dialogue: Safdie’s expansion uses luminous geometric moves to reframe a stricter original building, emphasizing procession and landmark visibility along Ottawa’s ceremonial context.
Stone/concrete gravitas paired with glass pyramidal elements—materials used to perform ‘government solidity’ while letting light become the contemporary signature.
Integrating an expansion with distinct geometry into an existing civic structure—interface detailing and load paths matter as much as the new forms.
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Montreal Museum of Fine Arts
National Gallery of Canada
Hebrew College
Yad Vashem
Habitat 67
United States Institute of Peace
Nearby in Ottawa
Frequently Asked Questions
Who designed John G. Diefenbaker Building?+
John G. Diefenbaker Building was designed by Moshe Safdie. It is located in Ottawa, Canada.
Where is John G. Diefenbaker Building located?+
John G. Diefenbaker Building is located in Ottawa, Canada. Its coordinates are 45.4399°, -75.6947°.
Can I visit John G. Diefenbaker Building?+
John G. Diefenbaker Building is a real building in Ottawa that can be viewed from the outside. Check local information for interior access and visiting hours. Use the Parametric Atlas walking tour feature to plan a route that includes this building.