Timeless architecture for a sustainable future
Buildings contribute to an estimated 39% of global carbon emissions not only though direct energy use, but also through the energy intensive processes used to produce construction materials such as steel, cement and glass. Alternatively, forests are natural carbon sinks, absorbing and storing atmospheric carbon.
Working with an interdisciplinary team of McGill researchers, as well as with private and public sector partners, BARN co-leads Michael Jemtrud, Kiel Moe, and Salmaan Craig (Peter Guo-hua Fu School of Architecture) aim to develop regional, carbon-negative approaches to construction, linking sustainable forestry with timber innovations.
With the goal of producing long-lived and resilient architecture, the team will explore ways to “decarbonize” buildings and environments by making them less carbon-intensive to operate and by reducing the amount of carbon embodied in building materials, components, assemblies, buildings and communities.
The showcase BARN building, to be located on McGill’s Macdonald campus, will include laboratories for an interdisciplinary team of experts in energy, ecology, landscape, forestry, architecture, and construction. It will incorporate a state-of-the-art workshop for processing timber, and space for assembling and testing innovative building technologies at full scale.
The Mac campus site will also enable the team to use wood harvested sustainably from the Morgan Arboretum to be processed and used in the design and construction of novel buildings in the as part of the facility’s “research-develop-demonstrate workflow,” says Professor Jemtrud. The large, interdisciplinary team capitalizes on the vast intellectual resources in the School of Architecture and in other Faculties and will train the next generation of professionals in carbon-neutral and climate resilient design.
(Source: McGill Newsroom)
Project Scope:
The project BARN is located on McGill Mac Campus and includes the construction of a facility for experimental research in architecture and engineering with a focus on developing wood as a building material and decarbonization transformation of the built environment. As such, the research facility (made largely of timber) is the research infrastructure in itself.
Project Details:
| Status | Design |
| Est. Project Start Date | 2024 - 2026 |
| Est. Budget Range | $20,000,000 - $25,000,000 |
| Location | Macdonald Campus, Building 527 |
| Project Number | 21-094 |
| Contact | map.procurement [at] mcgill.ca |
Please read the following information carefully :
Sustainable Procurement
The businesses with which the University will contract with in the course of this project will have respect the McGill Supplier Code of Conduct.
Other requirements may apply, such as (for example): the quantification and limiting of GHG emissions over the contract or asset lifecycle, sustainable construction/product certifications, involvement of indigenous businesses or of social economy businesses, design for circularity, and so on.
Notice :Information in this document is not to be interpreted as a commitment to conduct any solicitation in any particular market (or to fulfill any particular need) within any timeframe. This document is based on preliminary assessments which may be modified and needs may consequently be increased, partially fulfilled or cancelled. The needs of the client units may fluctuate according to their capabilities and priorities. Moreover, this acquisition plan is subject to various risk factors that have an influence on the operations of McGill University, such as available revenue, inflation, changes in: provincial and federal policies, technologies, human resources, social movements and trends, demographic aspects of the student population and the academic personnel. |