Eau Claire Place II Conversion

Eau Claire Place II is one of the largest office to residential conversion projects in downtown Calgary, AB. Investment and real estate firm Pacific Reach participated in the Downtown Calgary Development Incentive Program and received funding to convert the underutilized office space into much needed residential rental units. The conversion project is part of the City’s urban regeneration efforts to densify the core by bringing people back to the city centre.

The 17-story commercial high-rise will be transformed into a 195-unit apartment building. Modernization of the exterior concrete structure will embrace design elements to introduce colors that are more playful and representative of a residential building, in combination with new glazing to enhance the appearance. Soffit metal cladding will anchor the underside of post-tension floor slab at the entrance providing a patterned expression of art.

Inspired partially by the look and feel of the existing space, the transformation of the residential floors echoes the iconic style through bold geometry, modern simplified linework and natural themes. Striking yet minimal, the feel of the space will reflect the glamour, luxury and opulence of the era through a more scaled-down, modern approach suitable for the intended use of livable space. Textures and movement are paired with. bold accents, clean, tailored materials, streamlined silhouettes, dynamic light fixtures and use of wood and metals to highlight details in the one, one + den and two-bedroom units.

Rich amenities will draw from existing spaces including ground level retail and the recently renovated lounge for coworking and gym on the second floor. A new rooftop patio provides access to the outdoors to support lifestyle and wellness.

As the lead architect/consultant and interior designer, we achieved 84% efficiency using the existing floorplate in the design for the residential floors with an overall building efficiency of 79.2%. Considering this is a conversion project, coming even close to a new built floorplate efficiency is a testament to the skill of the design team to utilize every usable space of the floorplates. This achievement sets a new benchmark for floorplate efficiency in our conversion work. Repurposing the existing structure, mechanical and electrical elements resulted in measurable environmental benefits. New construction of the same size would require approximately 21,000 tonnes of concrete to construct the tower and parking components resulting in overall Green House Gas (GHG) savings of 1,582,530 kgCO2e for this project.