The History of McGill University's Buildings

Description

Burnside Hall, named after the original home of James McGill, was built in 1970, by Marshall, Merrett, and Assoc., to meet the growing need for space in the Faculty of Science. This thirteen-storey structure was constructed of precast concrete slabs, with fixed, glazed windows, attached to a frame of reinforced concrete frame. Burnside is surrounded on three sides by other campus buildings: to the north is the Macdonald-Stewart Library (once the Macdonald Physics Building), to the northeast is the Pulp and Paper Research Institute, to the east and south is the Otto Maass Chemistry Building. An underground tunnel system connects all of these edifices to the rest of the science and engineering complex. All of the large classrooms are located in the basement underneath Burnside's concrete terrace. There are many entrances to this area to facilitate traffic between classes and to minimize congestion in the tower itself. The first floor of Burnside is used as a lobby, the second was given to the Computing Centre, and the rest, serving the needs of the Departments of Mathematics, Geography and Atmospheric and Oceanic Sciences, contain offices, small classrooms, the Edward Rosenthal Library of Mathematics and Statistics, and the Walter Hitschfeld Environmental Earth Sciences Library.

Although this building has no ornament other than its pattern of fenestration, its outer shell is thought to blend well with the colour and texture of other campus structures. It is expected to serve McGill well into the future and to this end can be expanded by an additional five storeys.