Canadian firms Moriyama & Teshima Architects and IBI Group have designed an underground visitor centre in Ottawa with gothic-style details that echo historic government buildings nearby.The Government of Canada Visitor Welcome Centre (VWC) serves as the new public entrance to Parliament Hill, the home of Canada's parliament.

The VWC is the first new major addition on Parliament Hill in over 75 years, and is designed to improve security and enhance circulation between various buildings.The Hill comprises three edifices arranged around a central lawn, with the Centre Block for the Senate and Commons chambers and the East and West Blocks as ministers' and senators' offices.The VWC is a subterranean structure inserted into a sloping site, measuring 450,000 square feet (41,806 square metres) across two levels.

On the top level is the main entrance, ticketing desk, room for security and scanning, restrooms, a cloakroom and exit. The floor below features these amenities along with gathering areas, a gift shop, information desk and back-of-house rooms.Both the vaulted ceilings and the columns take cues from the soaring Gothic Revival architecture seen around Parliament Hill.

Woven bronze filigree screens frame the atrium and allow views from the upper concourse to the level below. This metalwork echoes the twisted ornamental forms on existing neo-gothic guardrails and gates seen across the Hill.To further integrate the project with the surroundings, the building features existing heritage flagstaff and retaining walls that were extended down into the construction.