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Montreal’s Empty Olympic Tower Revived into Offices for Desjardins

02.19.20 | By
Montreal’s Empty Olympic Tower Revived into Offices for Desjardins

Abandoned since 1987, the Olympic Tower of Montreal was recently transformed into new offices for Desjardins, one of Quebec’s largest financial institutions. Provencher_Roy designed the office interiors which span seven of the building’s 12 floors, equaling 80% of the available rental space. Now labeled the Montreal Tower, the structure was opened up when Provencher_Roy removed a good portion of the prefabricated concrete panels and replaced them with an all-glass curtain wall covering about 60% of the facade. With the panels gone, the interior spaces are flooded with natural light making them suitable for today’s workspaces.

The building’s origin isn’t completely forgotten as they incorporated moments throughout that give nod to its Olympics past.

The sloped glass windows offer employees up close views of the stadium and the city beyond.

The modern offices go beyond being just a “workplace” and into a real “living space” that’s catered towards employees aged 25 to 35.

Photos by Stéphane Brügger, courtesy of v2com.

Caroline Williamson is Editor-in-Chief of Design Milk. She has a BFA in photography from SCAD and can usually be found searching for vintage wares, doing New York Times crossword puzzles in pen, or reworking playlists on Spotify.