The History of McGill University's Buildings

Description

The McConnell Engineering Building was donated to McGill in 1959 by John W. McConnell, a major benefactor of the University since 1911 and one of its Governors from 1928 until 1958. In the period after World War II when all of the Engineering Faculties were greatly expanding, this nine-storey structure doubled the number of classrooms, lecture rooms, and offices available for use by the above faculties. McConnell Engineering, located on the southwest corner of Milton and University, provides a connection between the F.D. Adams Building to the south, and the Workman Wing of the Macdonald Engineering Building to the west. Along with Macdonald Chemistry and Macdonald Physics (now the Macdonald-Harrington Building and Macdonald-Stewart Library Building, respectively), McConnell Engineering creates a complete, joined circuit of buildings for Engineering and its Schools.

As is typical of Fleming and Smith's other campus projects, such as the F.D. Adams and the Otto Maass Chemistry Buildings, the McConnell Engineering Building features a modern use of concrete faced with stone, interrupted regularly by bands of windows. It is a very functional structure containing many labs and offices on all its floors and two large lecture theatres, one spanning the first and second floors, the other placed above it on the second and third floors. Generally, the more specialized facilities are located on higher floors, while the most frequently used labs and classrooms are on the lower floors. This keeps traffic between classes to a minimum and reduces the amount of crowding on the building's six elevators. Aside from the Chemical and Electrical Engineering Faculties, the School of Computer Science is also located in this building.

The only ornament of the McConnell Engineering is a series of three carvings on the east, facing University Street. Each contains the symbols of different fields of Engineering and creates a break in the pattern of windows.