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Publication:22 October 2026The Dairy House is located on the grounds of the residence of the Governor General. Built in 1895 and originally was used as a dairy, making cheese and butter for the estate. It was located in the farm and operation area that supported the historic estate. As Rideau Hall changed its management system it was abandoned for many years. For some time it was used as an artist studio and then left as a storage space. Despite its recognition as a heritage building it became dilapidated and partially collapsed due to lack of maintenance. In 2017, the building reopened in a new location on the Rideau Hall grounds, following a deconstruction and re-assembly as a new changing facility for the Rideau Hall skating rink. This transformation was awarded Ottawa Heritage Award of Merit in 2019 for Adaptive Re-use.
| Location | Canada|Ontario|Ottawa |
| Typologies | Architecture of sports and leisure|Stadiums, arenas, ice rinks and tennis courts |
| Project type | Transformation |
| End Date | 28 January 2017 |
2019
Réutilisation adaptive du Dairy Building_Carleton_#43As Canada continues to face different challenges within and around its built environment such as climate change, cultural heritage erosion, and socio-economic crises, highlighting the potential for adaptive reuse of our existing infrastructure and buildings to alleviate these issues becomes increasingly important. Carleton Architecture’s Adaptive Reuse Research Team, in collaboration with ARCH 5201 students, selected a group of case studies to better understand the challenges and solutions adaptive reuse can provide. This document outlines one of the selected case studies, Symmes Inn Museum in Gatineau, QC. It provides a concise overview of the building’s context, distinctive features and existing conditions, as well as the process undertaken to facilitate its adaptive reuse.
