Linebox Studio pitches '13 Voices, One Home' design for 24 Sussex restoration

Linebox Studio, an Ottawa-based architecture firm, has submitted a design proposal called "13 Voices, One Home" for the restoration and modernization of 24 Sussex Drive, responding to a request for qualifications issued by Public Services and Procurement Canada in August.

The firm's approach aims to represent all 13 provinces and territories, weaving Canada's past, present and future into the heritage property's renovation. "I look at this as Canada's home," founder and principal partner Andrew Reeves told Ottawa Business Journal. "It's literally a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity."

The project carries substantial technical demands: the building requires security measures including bomb-proofing, heritage compliance, and sits on one of Ottawa's most prominent sites. Required team members include an architect, builder, interior designer and various engineers. The security component is mandatory—any team member must have led a $35-million high-security facility project, and the builder must have completed a $50-million complex building project.

Linebox addressed the security requirement by bringing in a specialty security consultant, though Reeves noted the barrier is steep. "There are plenty of very capable security firms in Canada," he said. "There are far fewer that can point to one project that checks every one of those boxes." After the qualifications phase, winners will move into a design competition. Reeves expressed concern about whether the combined RFQ requirements narrow the field too tightly, and said he would like to see more design competitions in federal procurement rather than qualification-heavy processes. No timeline or budget for the renovation has been disclosed.