The National Capital Commission in Ottawa-Gatineau keeps delivering. After the boat house in Rockcliffe and Kìwekì Point behind the National Art Gallery, the NCC reopened the renovated and expanded Westboro Beach pavilion with its iconic three beach hut inspired buildings by Ottawa architect James Strutt. Is it another winner for the NCC? Let’s check it out.
Bike to Westboro Beach
I decided to visit Westboro Beach on a sunny Wednesday afternoon and already the new 70 spot parking lot was nearly full. Coming from Nepean, I had approached the beach by bike (what else really?) through Westboro via the Churchill separated bicycle tracks. I continued crossing Richmond and turned left into Lanark Ave which brought me straight to the parkway underpass at the beach. However, just before the underpass I turned right so that I could cross the Mikan and approach the pavilion at road level.
Shared space
The first thing you will enter is the shared space. Although it looks like it is randomly paved in different shade pavers, you will notice there is a bit of a gray pattern indicating a rough line for people who pass on a bike following the Ottawa River Pathway. The pavilion is right on this very busy bike route, with pre-Covid numbers of over 3000 people a day riding the pathway and as high as 5000 on a sunny July 1st. (I don’t know post Covid data)
Less is more
It may look like one big public square and it is, which might confuse pedestrians and cyclists. I suspect that is done on purpose. According to the late Dutch traffic engineer Hans Monderman, giving less guidelines in traffic makes people a little less sure what they can or not can expect from other road users. This will make them more alert.
As an extreme example: a straight road with a maximum speed of 60 kph and no sidewalks or crossings gives people confidence that they can go at least 70 kph without having to pay much attention. However a place like Lansdowne requires attention and a slow pace from all road users to observe what other road users are doing. A woonerf too is based on those principles.
Westboro Beach Club
What stands out is the new building that has been built north of the beach (the beach runs north south) and the Strutt structures. It houses the new Westboro Beach Club with its patio at the lower level overlooking the river. On the ground floor level, the space is still being finished. John Borsten from The Grant Pizzeria in the Byward Market (and Zak’s diner, Metropolitain Brasserie and Starling Restaurant) will move in with a new Grant Pizzeria location end of the summer. I think this will be a hit. In winter the Kichi Zībī skitrail will pass the site as well and I can see this as a great lunch (or après ski) location. I can imagine myself sitting there with hot chocolate at a roaring fire.
Beach volleyball courts
Outside, north of the new building, you will find two new 15 m x 25 m beach volleyball courts and a play structure with two fun water features (I drank the water and I am still alive). The shore line has been further opened up and replanted with several small terraces with a few Muskoka chairs and a walking path.
Stromatolites
A neat feature is the exposure of Stromatolites, dating back to the pre-Cambrian, pre-dinosaurs area. An interpretation panel by Don Enright explains more about the fascinating story of stromatolites. Stromatolites are some of the first forms of life on Earth and recorded present in rocks 3.5 billion years old.
James Strutt legacy
The Strutt structures, built in 1966, have been renovated and are looking proper again. The three structures are based on English beach huts from the days of yore. The roofs had been replaced by another material (metal?) but are now glass again. I didn’t go inside yet, but glanced through the door opening and they look spacious, clean and bright. They now function as change and locker spaces from what I understand. Born in 1924, Architect James Strutt has left his mark on Ottawa, but I fear he is still fairly unknown here. He played a role in the development in modern architecture after 1950. No matter where you live in Ottawa, you likely have passed a Strutt design.
My friend Brian created a tour of churches designed by James Strutt. I have been several times in one of the houses Mr. Strutt designed (on Roger Road). I remember being very impressed with the design inside, but little did I know at that time it was a Strutt house. He was even still alive back then but passed away in 2008. At some point, if you are interested, you should also pay a visit to the Strutt house on the edge of Gatineau Park.
“Strutt was inspired by the simple wooden beach huts at the seaside in the United Kingdom. He sought to create shapes that were both grand and whimsical, basing his designs on a grid of equilateral, or equal-sided, triangles” – interpretation panel at Westboro Beach
Character-defining elements of the Westboro Beach Pavilion
“The character-defining elements of the Westboro Beach Pavilion that should be respected include its
Quote from Parks Canada website
Brutalist-inspired extensive use of concrete with minimal ornamentation, limited to subtle surface striations; Expressionist and Post-Modern reinterpretation of European beach huts, playfulness of mass and scale, and whimsical geometry; general form, with three separate hexagonal masses with tripartite pitched roofs placed on an obscured substructure plinth; integration into a sloped site with lawn covering the substructure, serving to hide the mass of the base from view of the Parkway, while from the beach it is revealed, creating an ensemble that is both human scale and monumental; the use of poured-in-place reinforced concrete panels; sharply inclined heavy concrete canopies to indicate entrances; custom-made steel doors and window coverings”.
Where are the bike racks at Westboro Beach?
There is a path leading down to the beach with a boardwalk leading to the beach club at the bottom on your right. At the entire property, I found very few bike racks, only 10 in total. Only later I discovered the 150+ bike racks hidden underneath the underpass. As the majority of people who bike by come from the Ottawa river pathway which runs parallel to the Mikan, I think this will cause some problems, simply because people won’t know the racks exist. Another important thing is that cyclists like to keep an eye on their bikes as so many get stolen. They are too out of sight underneath the overpass.
As you can see in the photo, the racks are also placed way too close together, a common mistake. If the racks are full, the first two bikes will block all other twelve bikes. This is a common install mistake as cyclists know all to well. I have pointed it out to the NCC last weekend. There should be maneuvering space between the two rear wheels in the photo above of at least another metre. Why is that so hard to understand?
I don’t see myself baking on the beach anytime soon, but the redevelopment of the site has definitely become a destination now for a larger demographic. Which fits in the NCC’s strategy to bring more people to our waterfront.
Parliament Hill pathway
On another note: I just saw on the NCC website this week that the path behind Parliament Hill along the river will not be open for another year (spring 2026). There is still work ongoing on the cooling and heating plant as well as several other works. You can get on the path though from the Ottawa Locks to just past the staircase leading to Parliament Hill, but then it stops. You’ll have to climb up towards Wellington St. again via the parking lot and unless you are Derrick Gee (recently blessed by new pope Leo no less), you may not enjoy that.
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At the moment I am not able to cycle that far but would like to know if there is a bus stop and direct walking path to the new beach facility.
Bus 81 stops on Churchill at Lanark. From there it is a 350 meter walk.
The subtly identified cycle route across the plaza won’t last long.
The line painting crews delineated the car spaces at Lansdowne within months ( the Toronto architect-planners sneered Ottawans werent sophisticated enough to understand shared spaces.)
The similar large pavered plaza at Pooleys Bridge has been brightly cut up by fluorescent yellow lines to show / contain the cyclists.
Ottawa is a city of bureaucrats, rules must be made, and the dim masses showed exactly where they belong.
Great photos and info about the new buildings and beach area. I was there on the weekend and for the first time in my life I went to use the washroom and was pleasantly surprised at how bright and clean the building is as well as very large washrooms to accommodate everyone’s needs. In years past I had never gone inside because it was old and stinky and dirty looking but not anymore. The new patio and food service are very nice as well. Can’t wait for the new restaurant to open. Thanks for providing a detailed write-up of Westboro Beach.