Request for Expressions of Interest (EOI)
For McGill groups and units interested in moving into the RVH
In the Royal Victoria Hospital (RVH) site, we have a unique opportunity to create initiatives that will
bring McGill into the future.1 When we consider the academic vision for the RVH, we are in effect
asking the questions, “What do we want the McGill of 10, 20 or 50 years to be? How can we dream
big?”
Beyond our obvious need for space, the RVH provides an opportunity to build and invigorate an
academic neighbourhood with increased collaboration and interactions. Creativity and fresh ideas
often arise when we connect people with different backgrounds, education and perspectives. Diverse
neighbourhoods are healthy and inspiring, capable of nourishing creativity.
The Principal’s Task Force on the Academic Vision and Mission of the RVH Site is calling on McGill units
and groups interested in moving or expanding to the RVH to submit a vision for their “neighbourhood.”
These groups can be academic, administrative or student organizations. A group’s need for space will,
of course, form part of the consideration as to how the RVH might be occupied. However, to advance
McGill’s mission well into the future, the RVH needs to be much more than a collection of units that
currently have space requirements.
We invite bold, imaginative expressions of interest to serve as a starting point for discussion and
exploration of broader collaborative opportunities. This EOI will signal the unit’s or group’s willingness
to work with the Task Force to explore their vision and partnerships, and, if chosen for the RVH, to take
a leadership role in developing the initiative. While it is too early in the process to make firm
commitments, the Task Force asks units to have the dean(s) or vice-principal(s) responsible sign off on
their submission to indicate the faculty’s or portfolio’s willingness to explore the idea.
The earliest time that space would be available in the RVH is 2021. Therefore we need to look far
beyond short-term needs. The Task Force asks interested units to take into account emerging
directions, either in their discipline or across the university sector, such as:
 the central role of universities as a source of skilled talent, ideas and innovation for social,
cultural and economic development in a global knowledge society
 increasing interactions and integration among disciplines in teaching and research
 increased student desire to learn across disciplines and academic institutions
 increased student focus on enhancing the social, cultural and economic well-being of their
communities through teaching, learning and research designed for impact
 growth in digital learning and blended learning
 rapid growth of new opportunities associated with emerging digital technologies
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The decision as to whether or not McGill will in fact acquire the RVH site has not yet been made, and will depend on the
results of the feasibility study and availability of funding. For more information and background, please see
https://www.mcgill.ca/principal/rvh-task-force
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Submissions should be a maximum of five pages (in font size 12), and answer the five groups of
questions below, as appropriate. Units may include any other information to help describe their
initiative within the page limit. Sample questions and information are provided in Appendix 1 to assist
units in refining their vision. Appendix 2 provides an overview of the types of space available on the
RVH site.
Submissions are due February 12, 2016, and should be emailed to rvh_vision@mcgill.ca.
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EOI Template
1. What is your vision?
2. Which units, groups or organizations would be good partners to create your ideal
neighbourhood? Would their proximity within the RVH help advance your initiative? With
which McGill groups have you spoken or worked to develop this vision? Are there any external
partners that you envision as natural collaborators?
3. What type of space would you need to foster this increased collaboration and interactions in
service of academic excellence and scholarship with enduring impact? How would your
initiative use the unique characteristics of the RVH location?
4. How would your vision add value to the University as a whole and advance its academic
mission?
5. How would your vision benefit the communities we serve off campus, locally, nationally or
internationally?
**************************************************************************
To be completed by the appropriate dean(s) or vice-principal(s) responsible for the unit or units
involved:
I am comfortable with the Task Force exploring this initiative as a possible candidate for space in the
Royal Victoria Hospital site:
_____________________________
Signature
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Appendix 1: Developing Your Vision
The information and questions below are provided to assist groups in developing their vision.
Submissions should answer only the questions that are relevant to their proposal.
Future Directions:
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What directions, themes or technologies do you see emerging that will have an impact on the
way your group will work in the future? How does your vision take these into account?
How does your vision encourage creativity to anticipate or create future academic or
administrative innovations?
Integration of Student Life and Learning
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How does your unit currently integrate student life and learning, and how would your initiative
enhance those activities?
With which partners or groups might your initiative interact to foster an increase in studentcommunity or peer-peer connections, through activities such as experiential learning, learning
communities, informal exchanges, community partnerships, or connection with mentors?
The Neighbourhood
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Which units, groups or organizations would be good partners to create your ideal ecosystem?
Would their proximity within the RVH help to advance your initiative?
How might those interactions encourage innovation, excellence and impact, whether in
learning, research, community service, administrative services or some combination of these?
How would your initiative connect to other parts of McGill to ensure an integration and flow of
people and ideas? What type of physical, virtual or program connections might you need?
Would your initiative involve other Montreal post-secondary institutions? If so, how?
How would your initiative strengthen McGill’s flagship academic areas?
How could your initiative help advance key thematic clusters in Montreal and Quebec, such as
international NGOs, pharma/biotech, sustainability and green/clean tech, arts and culture,
aerospace, IT and gaming, or social entrepreneurship?
Hubs of Attraction
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How will your initiative attract people, either from the McGill community, other academic
institutions, partners or the general public, to the RVH site?
What types of spaces (e.g. a central agora, exhibition and event space, conference centre)
would be needed to help your initiative to attract people and encourage them to interact?
What are the advantages for Montreal, Quebec and Canada to bring people and partners here?
How would you leverage the unique advantages of Montreal, Quebec and Canada to help
attract people and partners to the RVH?
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Effective and Efficient Services

How would your initiative use the RVH space to bring together or reorganize administrative
services to make them more effective and efficient? E.g.
• Shared service hubs
• Data/computing centers
• Specialized service offering
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Appendix 2: Overview of Space at the RVH Site (see
attached map Appendix 3)
If it acquires the RVH, McGill would design the site to create three types of spaces:
A. Heritage buildings that will be used by McGill, but have certain constraints due to the need to
preserve their historic character
B. New buildings that can be designed to accommodate most purposes
C. Heritage buildings that will be occupied by partners
Further details on the three types of spaces can be found in the tables below. For more background on
the site and its possible uses, please see:
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The video at the bottom of this page: https://www.mcgill.ca/principal/rvh-task-force
A PowerPoint presentation found here:
https://www.mcgill.ca/principal/files/principal/mcgill_and_the_future_of_the_rvh_site_.pdf
Abbreviations used in the tables below:
 GSM = gross square metres
 CR/Dry = classroom / dry lab
 Wet = wet lab
A. McGill Heritage Buildings |Wing A (part); Wing E, L, H |~25,000 GSM
SPACE CHARACTERISTICS
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Heritage exteriors have to be retained and renewed.
Exterior walls will not fully support modern sophisticated
temperature/humidity controls.
Interiors will be totally gutted and renovated with new infrastructure
In the A and H wings (Administration and Hersey Pavilions) the
relatively low ceilings (3.5m slab to slab) and compact existing
structural elements limit accommodation of large classrooms, large
open spaces, and the HVAC services for wet labs.
E and L wings (East and West wings flanking the main entrance)
narrow, but with high ceilings (4.7m slab to slab) and very high
percentage of glazing, though constrained by limited ways of egress
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POSSIBLE USES
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EXAMPLES OF SCALE
 As an administrative/office centre, this space could accommodate
approximately 1000 staff (equivalent to 3 times the James Building’s
number of staff)
 As an academic centre, without wet labs, these buildings could
accommodate approx. 300 academic staff and 1500 students (equivalent
to 2 Leacock Buildings)
Offices, administrative centres
Narrow wings best for offices, open study, limited partitioning etc.
Small (<100 seat) classrooms
Dry labs, with limited services
Student offices, study space
Reading rooms, lounges, small cafeterias
Some wet lab possibilities in H wing, but would be limited, and not
high quality.
B. McGill New Building | Wing A (part), M, S | ~40,000 GSM
SPACE CHARACTERISTICS

Wings A (part), M, S will be demolished and replaced by new buildings
that can be custom designed for any University purpose.
POSSIBLE USES

All major University uses: classrooms, teaching labs (dry and wet),
offices, research labs (dry and wet), library, student services, food
services etc.
Convocation hall (5000 seats)
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EXAMPLES OF SCALE

If the facility was divided evenly between an administrative office
building, an academic dry discipline unit, and an academic wet
discipline unit, the capacity would be:
o Admin offices: 550 staff
o Academic (dry): 175 acad. staff; 2000 students
o Acad. (wet lab): 75 PI’s; 450 grad students
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C. Heritage Buildings Used By Partners | Wings P, R, F | ~25,000 GSM
SPACE CHARACTERISTICS
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POSSIBLE USES
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EXAMPLES OF SCALE
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Heritage exteriors must be retained and renewed. Exterior walls will
not fully support modern sophisticated temperature/humidity
controls.
Interiors will be totally renovated with new infrastructure
Relatively low ceilings and compact existing structural elements limit
accommodation of large classrooms, large open spaces, wet labs.
Potential to demolish some of wing P (the AMI) and replace with new
construction.
Partners would occupy these buildings for 40-50 years, after which the
usage reverts to McGill.
Partners must have the financial means to refit and operate buildings.
A recent study by Altus Inc. showed the highest economic impact for
Quebec would be occupancy by scientific laboratories.
Corporate offices
International research centres
Housing, including student housing
Hotel/conference centres
As an administrative/office centre, this space could accommodate
approximately 1000 staff (equivalent to 3 times the James Building)
For housing, each of the R and F wings could accommodate
approximately 250 students.
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Appendix 3: RVH Site Map
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