Characteristics
Designed by Jean Omer Marchand and John A. Pearson, the Centre Block is a 144 m (472 ft) long by 75 m (246 ft) deep, and six storey high, symmetrical structure built in the modern Gothic Revival style. As such, it displays a multitude of stone carvings, including gargoyles, grotesques, and friezes, keeping with the Victorian High Gothic style of the rest of the parliamentary complex. The walls are faced with more than 50,000 blocks of over 24 different types of stone, though a rustic finished Nepean sandstone is the predominant kind of masonry, with dressed stone trim around the 550 windows and other edges. The roof is of reinforced concrete covered with copper, and dotted with dormer windows. The interior walls are sheeted with Tyndall stone, a dolomitic limestone quarried in southeastern Manitoba and chosen by the architect for the richness of its vibrant colour and rich texture, formed by darker brown spots caused by fine fern markings. These surfaces are augmented by sculptural decoration done in Indiana limestone.
The Centre Block houses offices and facilities, including the prime minister's office, that of the leader of Her Majesty's Loyal Opposition, and the offices of other party leaders, as well as senators, ministers, and commons staff. Further, there are numerous parliamentary committee rooms and the Parliamentary Press Gallery.
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