The Bourque building at the Northeast corner of King Edward and Rideau streets was originally designed and built in the 1960s, and served as the former offices of DND and had sat vacant since 2016. The RLA team was tasked with the challenge of converting the aged 11-storey office building into a vibrant mixed-use student residence concept, and producing construction documents and delivering contract admin support for the construction phase all within a 12-month time span. It successfully opened in the summer of 2019.

The design concept sought to brighten and modernize the Brutalist office building by removing large sections of precast concrete cladding from the upper floors and replacing them with large expanses of curtain wall. The podium level was also re-clad with curtain wall and updated lighting, and what was once 420 linear feet of vacant commercial street frontage on one of Ottawa busiest corners is now re-activated with university students and new commercial tenants. The outdated central mechanical equipment was replaced with a distributed system of high efficiency heat pumps. This left the 28’ high ceilinged and 15,000 square foot mechanical penthouse as a prime candidate for two-storey maisonettes that hold Westerly views to the Parliamentary precinct and a spectacular amenity floor that includes group kitchen and dining spaces, a full gym, a movie theater and a basketball court.