Located among constant heavy traffic in downtown Ottawa, L’Esplanade Laurier is an office complex between Laurier Avenue and O’Connor Street.
The 22-storey building consists of two towers, resting on a foundation of restaurants and a shopping centre, and housing several federal government offices, including the department of finance, the treasury board secretariat, and the Public Service Commission. Stretching to 88 metres tall, the two towers are the ninth and 10th tallest buildings in the city of Ottawa.
Olympia and York, once a major international property development firm based in Canada, built l’Esplanade Laurier between 1973 and 1975 to create offices for federal government workers.
Throughout its history, maintenance problems have plagued l’Esplanade Laurier. In the late 1990s, marble cladding began falling off the building’s first and second floors and in 2002 workers accidentally dumped hundreds of litres of ethyl glycol, otherwise known as antifreeze, into the water supply.
The complex now belongs to the government of Canada.
The architecture and design recalled its 1970s origins. Plain grey paint coats the halls of the lobbies, with few decorations other than some armchairs, a small collection of plants, and the flags representing each province.
In the shopping centre, the hardwood floors, escalators, and “Musac” maintain a traditional feel to the mall.