A residential building in Montreal is earning praise for preserving the site’s industrial character while increasing residential density. Vivre 2, located in the Atlantic sector of the city’s Outremont borough, transforms a former industrial site into a modern residential development.

Designed by ACDF Architecture, the project draws inspiration from the district’s industrial heritage. It builds on the success of Vivre 1 in 2022 and helps accelerate residential growth in the post-industrial neighbourhood.

The design places common areas at ground level along the alley. This encourages community interaction, improves safety, and activates the public realm, according to a press release.

“The reconversion of such a sector should never be a blank page, but rather a dialogue between the before and the after,” says Maxime Frappier, the lead architect.

The building’s massing, says Frappier, aims to replicate the warehouses that once shaped the area. The material palette was also chosen to reinforce that sense of industrial continuity. The project uses two shades of clay brick—one to emphasize the structural grid and another to fill the spaces between it.

Vivre 2 won the 2026 Prix d’Excellence d’Architecture de l’Ordre des Architectes du Québec.