A New Graduate Student Residence for McGill University
A wholistic approach to university residence which integrates living and studying in the experience of university students

Introduction

In their book University Housing in Canada, Professor Bland and Professor Schoenauer showed how rarely university residences formed part of a continuity of university buildings, and how few of them successfully related living and studying. The book was written in 1966 as a critical survey on university residences throughout Canada, and after more than three decades, the same phenomenon still exists in most Canadian universities today. If the need for undergraduate housing was urgent in 1966 and universities in big cities and small towns were facing unprecedented problems that required new solutions, the need is even greater in year 2001 and beyond.

"McGill eliminates first-year residence guarantee: No solution in sight for housing crisis" - The McGill Tribune, 23 February 2001.

There are simply not enough rooms in the residences to accommodate for all the students. Even if there is a room available, it is expensive to live in these student residences. Not everyone can afford to live there. As a result, there is a dichotomy in living and studying in our university experience. Everyday, most students come to the university, attend oversized classes, and then return to their off-campus apartments. Given the large student population at McGill, it is obvious that there is an urgent need for a better sense of community in addition to the need for student housing.

Precedents

A number of North American universities found their architectural influence from Oxbridge (Oxford and Cambridge) in England, which in turn were very much influenced by the medieval monastery and Cathedral Close where monks performed their religious services.

The college system that is still being used at Oxford and Cambridge is very similar to Cathedral Close both architecturally and functionally. Many of the college buildings are organized around a large courtyard, or quadrangle like the planning of a cathedral Close. The buildings include residence, library, dining hall, common room, computer room, and chapel where the students live, eat, study, and socialize in the college much like the monks in the monasteries.

A contemporary precedent is the Salk Institute designed by Louis Kahn, which was influenced by the monastery of St. Francis of Assisi. His initial design included: the laboratories, 'the Living Place', and 'the Meeting Place', where the scientists could study, live, and interact.

Objectives

In my thesis, I am proposing the design of a student residence for McGill University. I would like to bring together learning and living to the university experience, and create a sense of community that is integrated with and enriched by academic life. As pointed out by some scholars, the student housing is a source of revenue for the university, and if properly managed, the earnings can be used to improve facilities such as libraries and to improve the quality of education.

I am also interested in sustainable design in order to provide a better social and physical environment for the students. Environmental impact can be reduced by applying sustainable design principles.

There are some consistent qualities that can be found in both the Cathedral Close and the colleges of Oxbridge: the majesty and dignity of their external character and public spaces which reflects the glory of God in the cathedrals, as well as the knowledge and wisdom in university education; at the same time, they have the contrasting character of humbleness found in the individual sleeping cell and private space of the monks and students. These are the architectural qualities that I hope to bring back to a university we once took pride of.