The Ottawa Regional Society of Architects presents Ottawa Architecture Week 2026, Currents of Bytown, from September 21 to October 2.

Prompted by the bicentennial of Bytown, this year’s festival examines Ottawa through the waterways that have shaped its architecture, infrastructure and urban form. The Ottawa, Rideau and Gatineau rivers, together with the Rideau Canal, have long served as systems of movement, exchange and stewardship, and later influenced settlement, industry, transportation and the development of the capital.

The theme also looks forward. As Ottawa’s relationship with its shorelines continues to change, OAW 2026 asks how architecture and urban design can contribute to questions of access, ecology, heritage, public space and the future of the watershed.

Free public programming includes Architecture Trivia Night, a Movie Night at the ByTowne Cinema, a tour of the Cliff Energy Centre, a panel discussion at Library and Archives Canada, OAW Talks at the NCC River House, the Carleton University Forum Lecture at the Ottawa Art Gallery, and a closing vernissage at Zibi.

OAW brings architects, designers, artists, historians, institutions and the public together to explore the forces shaping Ottawa and the role of design in its future.
 

Click here to view the free public programming schedule.