Designed by Georges Bouillon in 1887–88, it was dismantled in 1972 and rebuilt inside the National Gallery of Canada in order to preserve its unique architecture.

[2] In 1888, a new wing designed by the architect and priest Georges Bouillon opened that included the Rideau Street Convent Chapel on the second floor.

[2] Its unique feature was a ceiling overspread with decorative fan vaulting supported on slender cast iron columns, creating an effect of spacious elegance.

[4] The chapel often showcases Janet Cardiff's exhibit Forty-Part Motet (2001), which features the melody "Spem in alium" by Thomas Tallis.

Supported by a Canadian Heritage New Media Research Network Fund grant,[6] the digitization process used architectural drawings as well as the chapel's actual built dimensions to ensure accuracy.