The full office renovation and fit-out for Gowling WLG, an international law firm, occupies three floors in 160 Elgin, Ottawa’s third-largest building at the time of construction. 

Highlights of this renovation include sleek, mid-century modern upgrades to workspaces and meeting rooms, the addition of two large conference areas, an internal three-story staircase and high-end finishes such as switchable glazing (glass with adjustable opacity), detailed wood paneling, fabric-wrapped wall panels and recessed baseboards.

An impressive aspect of this office makeover was the coordination and installation of 557 square meters of Terrazzo flooring throughout the conference areas. Traditionally, contractors install flooring after the walls are completed, but waiting would have set the schedule back and risked damaging other finishes as they were happening. PCL’s sequencing solution prioritized the conference area demolition and drywall contractor to fast-track the wall layout. Doing this created a window of opportunity for the Terrazzo contractor to complete 95 percent of the flooring earlier in the project.  

New ideas emerged from our teams and partners during frequent construction walks with the owner and architects. Flexibility in this sense was invaluable to the client, who has since awarded additional projects to PCL.

The client was keen to “future proof” their office, so our Special Projects division installed extra electrical conduit in the conference areas. This makes it easy for Gowling WLG to “wow” their own clients with additional meeting and event technology when they’re ready to take the next steps.