Mod Mischief

After trying unsuccessfully to get in on a Bank of Canada tour two years in a row, I finally managed to wake up early enough on Doors Open Sunday to get one of the sought after tickets. In all honesty, it likely had more to do with the rain than my ability to drag myself out of bed before 10am. While we weren't allowed to take any photos once inside, I dig snag a few pictures in the atrium. For 1970s office towers, the East and West blocks were pretty cool, but I was a little disappointed to see that renovations had robbed the old building of many of its art deco details. The fully restored boardroom was a beautiful exception. I love these LED light bulbs! I also saw the Fleet Street Pumping Station. Built in 1874, it is still pumping 40% of the city's drinking water, all powered by the force of river water running through its aqueduct.

Yes ’ album art is awesome in that oh-so-seventies kind of way. It was a lot of fun (and a bit of a challenge) coming up with a way to turn some of it into a painted record clock . Now imagine if you could live inside those trippy, spacey scenes... Roger Dean , the artist behind those album covers, is trying to make it possible . Pretty wild. Photos from http://www.rogerdean.com/

This weekend was filled with so much awesomeness, I can’t possibly blog about it all. As previously posted , I had plans to hit up Doors Open Ottawa and I ended up seeing some really interesting stuff. The first place we went to see was the Aga Khan ’s new building, the Delegation of the Ismaili Imamat (I totally had to look that name up). So cool. I could gush about architect Fumihiko Maki ’s “ architectural jewel ” but I think the photos speak for themselves. We also toured the Supreme Court . I love art deco. I finally saw Laurier House , we went into the Laurentian Leadership Centre , and stopped by the Croatian Embassy . The view from the C.D. Howe Building ’s green roof was beautiful!

“Revel in the architecture! Soak up the heritage!” With catchy slogans like that, how could I not participate? I’m currently trying to plan my route for Doors Open Ottawa . I love this event for so many reasons. I’m really a big snoop and Doors Open lets me sneak a peek into some of the most interesting buildings in the city. It also provides me with new trivia for when I default to Ottawa tour guide mode, and, best of all, it’s free! This year’s lineup looks pretty good, although I am quite disappointed that some of the sites I didn’t get into last year are no longer on the list. On the to do list for this year: C.D. Howe Building – they’ve got a new ‘green roof’ that sounds pretty cool Laurier House – home to some of Canada’s most colourful prime ministers, I’ve been meaning to check this one out for a while Laurentian Leadership Centre – I used to walk by this 100 year old house everyday when I lived in Centretown and I’m curious to see if it is as pretty on the inside as I alway...