New city sights

Ottawa has a rather boring skyline. I see it when I look north from my apartment and always think it looks better at night when only the city lights, not the profiles of the humdrum city buildings, are visible. Wendy never tired of the changing effects of light and shade as the sun moved across the sky, and I'm chuffed when I remember what pleasure she got from gazing at the city buildings although I never completely shared in that pleasure. Today as I made my monthly pilgrimage northward on Colonel By Drive and across the Ottawa River to the SAQ store where I replenished my favourite strengthening medicine, I caught glimpses of the skyline from other perspectives and saw up close some new buildings and one still under construction on the University of Ottawa campus, that are exciting architectural additions to Canada's national capital. I can see from my apartment windows the top few floors of the new high-rise tower on the campus. As I came closer to it I was very pleased to see how handsome this tower looks. When it's completed it will be an ornament to the city and its skyline, which is fitting. Canada's national university in Canada's national capital is the proper place for innovative and architecturally elegant buildings like this. Another newcomer is the new Convention Centre which has no impact on the skyline but has a striking profile that overlooks the Rideau Canal. Only a handful of other public buildings in Ottawa, the National Gallery, the Museum of Civilization, two or three office buildings, and the Chateau Laurier (which must be getting on towards 100 years old) are worth a second glance. It's unfortunate that the splendid setting of this city, at the confluence of three rivers and with potentially great natural beauty, has not inspired a greater number of aesthetically thrilling and architecturally exciting buildings. I hope the few new ones on the U of O campus and elsewhere will inspire other architects and planners to do better.