University students reinvent Avenue McGill College

On March 23, seven teams of architecture, urban planning and civil engineering students presented their inspiring vision for the future Avenue McGill College as part of a student charrette (intensive design workshop).

In total, some 30 students from McGill University, Université de Montréal, Université du Québec à Montréal and École de technologie supérieure participated in the student charrette on the redevelopment of Avenue McGill College. Participants had less than 48 hours to develop their projects to redesign Avenue McGill College.

The jury was tied, so two projects were selected: Dunes givrées (Université de Montréal) and Adaptive Breathscape (McGill University). Both winning teams, each in their own way, emphasized green spaces and a multi-purpose design in order to meet the varied needs of neighbourhood residents, workers and visitors. The city awarded them a $1,600 bursary.

The student charrette was part of the vast design process the city has implemented to create the future Avenue McGill College. In the fall of 2018, the city launched the process with a public consultation led by the Office de consultation publique de Montréal.

The university community contributed to the discussion about the future of the McGill College project, an area that has a large amount of student traffic. Winning projects will inspire the functional and technical development program documentation, which will help to orient designers who are participating in the international design competition planned for fall 2019.

Students are sure to be pleased to find a part of themselves in the design of the future Avenue McGill College.