Globe and Mail: Montreal's Royal Vic Hospital revived

February 6, 2024

The New Vic is featured in an article by Wallace Immen for The Globe and Mail.

For more than a century, the palatial Royal Victoria Hospital was Montreal's main medical facility. Now, the complex of buildings on the northeast corner of McGill University's campus is being transformed into a new role: a global research and teaching center for sustainability and public policy.

“We were inspired by the goal of making a place for healing the body a centerpiece for the most pressing issue of our time: healing the planet,” says Don Schmitt, director of the project's architectural team, Diamond Schmitt/Lemais Michaud.

The original design of the hospital consisted of three separate pavilions in the Scottish baronial style, and a number of additions were made during the last century. The hospital moved to a new facility in 2016, and the buildings have been vacant since then.

The comprehensive project will completely restore dilapidated heritage hospital wings for reuse as classrooms and meeting spaces. A modern slate addition behind the historic hospital is being replaced by a new 350,000-square-foot building for research laboratories. The hospital courtyard, converted into a parking structure, will be replaced by a landscaped entrance pavilion leading to underground academic, community and event spaces and accessible links through the site at the foot of Mount Royal.

Building health and sustainability are at the forefront of transformation. The project aims to obtain LEED Gold and Well Gold certificates.

“This is a fantastic opportunity for McGill to acquire a large downtown site adjacent to the campus,” says Martin Davidson, director of Diamond Schmitt. “It will become a new home for researchers currently scattered across campus, bringing together sustainability initiatives from science, engineering and policy to collaborate and become truly multidisciplinary.”

Read the full article on The Globe and Mail here.