McGill University Power Plant / FABG

McGill University Power Plant / FABG - Exterior PhotographyMcGill University Power Plant / FABG - Exterior PhotographyMcGill University Power Plant / FABG - Exterior PhotographyMcGill University Power Plant / FABG - Exterior Photography, FacadeMcGill University Power Plant / FABG - More Images+ 12

  • Client: McGill University (royal Institution for the advancement of science)
  • Project Manager: Johanne Guertain, GPH
  • Assistant Project Manager: Nadia Nachtigall, McGill University
  • Mechanical Engineer Electricity: Guillaume Bouccara, Alain Bilodeau, BPA
  • General Contractors: Benoit Fiset, David Morissette, Mathieu Mainville, QMD
  • City: Montréal
  • Country: Canada
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McGill University Power Plant / FABG - Exterior Photography, Facade
© Steve Montpetit

Text description provided by the architects. McGill University needed a new building to house three 1.5 MW emergency facilities, generators that will protect research activities in the event of a power outage. The McGill University thermal power plant and the Wong, Rutherford, Administration, and Leacock pavilions are powered by a single emergency generator located in the Ferrier building in the immediate vicinity of the boiler room. This presents risks that should be limited by Housing New generators in separate spaces in the immediate vicinity.

McGill University Power Plant / FABG - Exterior Photography, Facade
© Steve Montpetit

The feasibility studies compared several location hypotheses, which led to the location of the structure between the Ferrier building (1963) and the Wong Pavilion (1990) being the best location. These preliminary studies also described the functional parameters associated with the two required 1.5 MW generators and the possible addition of a third in the future.

McGill University Power Plant / FABG - Image 17 of 17
Elevations

Innovation. The project was developed as part of a multidisciplinary integrated design exercise combining historical research, architecture, engineering, landscape, and urban acoustics to formulate a sensitive response to a problem that cannot be limited to utilitarian considerations.

McGill University Power Plant / FABG - Exterior Photography, Facade
© Steve Montpetit

The steeply pitched lot was an unused parking lot on Dr. Penfield avenue, which supported a greenhouse that had been demolished. It faces the castle-style pumping station of the McTavish underground reservoir and is part of the Mount Royal historic and natural District protected area.

Concept. The proposed concept is based on the following objectives:

McGill University Power Plant / FABG - Exterior Photography
© Steve Montpetit

  • Preserve transparency and permeability at Dr. Penfield level
  • Establish an additional link between the top and bottom of the campus
  • Structure the slope left in the wasteland
  • Ensure a significant plant presence on the site
  • Strengthen the specific character of McGill by using Trenton limestones
  • Promote integration by respecting existing alignments and templates 

The solution chosen is a glass pavilion on a limestone podium in alignment with the facades adjacent to the location of the disappeared greenhouses. A gazebo, under the extension of the roof, separates it from the Ferrier building and an external staircase leads to the lower level of the campus. Under this pavilion, a ventilation plenum allows the entry through the floor of the large amount of new air required while concealing the steam pipes connecting the Wong pavilion to the Ferrier Pavilion. The cantilevered overhang at the rear has vent grilles at the underside of the floor.

McGill University Power Plant / FABG - Image 14 of 17
Floor plan
McGill University Power Plant / FABG - Image 13 of 17
Floor plan

 The roofs are vegetated due to the low height of the building which exposes these surfaces to the view all over the south flank of Mount Royal and from surrounding buildings. For the roof surfaces and walls covered with metal panels, environmental problems related to lead discouraged us from using the tinned copper present on the Wong building and led us to propose a fluoropolymer paint baked on an aluminum panel to harmonize with the shade of the neighbor. The acrylic coating on the adjacent portion of the Ironworks has been replaced with limestone siding in this project.

McGill University Power Plant / FABG - Exterior Photography
© Steve Montpetit
McGill University Power Plant / FABG - Image 15 of 17
Floor plan
McGill University Power Plant / FABG - Exterior Photography
© Steve Montpetit

The project focuses on the underlying presence of the mountain by dramatizing the topography of the site. Although it is a technical infrastructure, we insisted on treating the building as a pavilion that could help enhance the quality and specificity of the McGill University campus.

McGill University Power Plant / FABG - Exterior Photography, Stairs, Facade
© Steve Montpetit

 Program. Storage and maintenance spaces for campus furniture and outdoor amenities are laid out at the foot of the slope and the limestone-clad main wall becomes parallel to the rest of the campus. A mature Elm is preserved at the foot of the staircase, which extends the existing sidewalks to University Street to enrich the network of pedestrian traffic that is being consolidated throughout McGill.

McGill University Power Plant / FABG - Interior Photography, Windows
© Steve Montpetit

 The generators are installed in a glass pavilion sitting on a granite baseboard at Dr. Penfield Street level while there is storage space for campus street furniture on the lower level. The interstitial space between these two volumes serves as a plenum for air, steam, and electricity connected to the Ferrier power station. An open staircase opens a new passage along the east-west axis to connect the top and bottom of the campus.

McGill University Power Plant / FABG - Exterior Photography, Facade
© Steve Montpetit

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Project location

Address:840 Avenue du Docteur-Penfield, Montréal, QC H3A 0G2, Canada

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Location to be used only as a reference. It could indicate city/country but not exact address.
About this office
Cite: "McGill University Power Plant / FABG" 17 May 2021. ArchDaily. Accessed . <https://www.archdaily.com/961746/mcgill-university-power-plant-fabg> ISSN 0719-8884

© Steve Montpetit

麦吉尔大学变电站 / FABG

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