Dear members of the McGill Community,
When McGill completes redevelopment of the lower portion of the site of the former Royal Victoria Hospital in 2028, we will add 22,800m2 (net) of much-needed, state-of-the-art teaching and research spaces to our downtown campus. The New Vic Project is the most significant infrastructure project our University has undertaken since its inception more than 200 years ago. But it is also more than this.
Our investment in the New Vic Project, supported by $620M from the Government of Quebec, will serve to accelerate McGill’s contributions as a world leader in the areas of sustainability and public policy by creating spaces that foster collaborative, innovative research and teaching across a multitude of disciplines.
The academic plan for the New Vic site is framed by research pillars focused on Sustainability Systems and Public Policy together with an emphasis on Teaching and Learning Environments. With a commitment to breaking disciplinary silos, together with the conscious integration of scholars working on questions of policy development and implementation, the New Vic will support the development of critical sustainability solutions with real-world influence.
The New Vic Project reached a critical milestone at the end of 2023, with the completion of the architectural design for the buildings McGill will occupy on the site of the former RVH. The design for these new spaces, for which the firm Diamond Schmidt / LemayMichaud Architects won a , reflects McGill’s commitment to sustainability, incorporating principles of sustainable building, merging elegance with adaptable use, and reflecting the long-standing presence and continued influence of Indigenous peoples on this territory.
With the architectural design complete, and on-site construction underway, I assumed direct stewardship of the Project last fall to ensure that the New Vic remains central to the University’s academic identity and priorities. Over the last several months, Project leads have convened a New Vic Academic Community of Practice, comprised of McGill researchers from a wide range of disciplines, with the view to ensuring that the constellation of scholarly activity related to the University’s commitment to sustainability continues to be designed by academic colleagues and for the larger McGill community. The Community of Practice will grow in the coming months, ensuring a wide range of representative voices.
Adding the New Vic site to McGill’s downtown footprint will be a critical step toward reducing the University’s current space deficit of more than 55,396m2 (net), as recognized by the ministère de l’Enseignement supérieur. By relieving some of the occupational density of our older buildings, expansion to the New Vic site can serve as a catalyst for further reorganization and optimization of scholarly activity across lower campus, challenging convention and fostering innovation and collaboration.
I will be hosting an open meeting for members of the McGill community interested in learning more about the New Vic Project on Friday, 9 February 2024, 1:30 to 3:00 p.m., via Teams. I will be joined by our President Deep Saini, as well as Chris Buddle, Associate Provost, Teaching and Academic Planning, and Academic Lead for the New Vic Project, Pierre Major, Executive Director of the New Vic Project, Bruce Lennox, Dean of the Faculty of Science and New Vic Academic Design Lead, and Viviane Yargeau, Dean of the Faculty of Engineering. I welcome your questions in advance and will endeavour to answer as many as possible during the meeting. Register to attend and submit your questions using your McGill credentials here.
With best regards,
Christopher Manfredi
Provost and Executive Vice-President (Academic)