Building 21's Final Days at McGill
Building 21's Final Days at McGill
The Issue
*This is not a petition against McGill.
TL;DR Past April 30, 2026, Building 21 is at risk of disappearing. After 9 beautiful daring years being hosted at McGill University in Montréal, Canada, we are now in search of what's next.
Sign to:
- 👉 Show your love for 9 years of B21!
- 👉 Stand up for interdisciplinary third spaces like B21
- 👉 You will receive an announcement if/when there is news about B21's future
Last Glimpses; experience B21 yourself!
🏡 Mila-B21 Scholar Showcase #1 | Thursday 3 - 6PM, 9 April: [eventbrite link here]
🏡 Mila-B21 Scholar Showcase #2 | Tuesday 3 - 6PM, 21 April: [eventbrite link here]
"""
Since 2017, Building 21 at McGill University has represented not only a space for deep inquisitive research, but also a ground for students to develop their field of expertise in a space where all disciplines have collided.
By trusting young minds and bringing together world-class thinkers, leaders, and artists, we have stumbled upon a model that not only works, but has created the conditions for unlikely paradigms, new inventions, accidental discoveries to emerge, such as:
- Mathilde Papillon’s Topological Deep Learning AI/ML architecture, now applied in Major League Baseball
- Kat Kavanagh’s WaterRangers project, that now monitors over 9,000+ international waterways using citizen science
- Hanah Derue’s “neuroscience-based startup that uses AI and art to help people communicate and manage chronic pain” (McGill Reporter, 2025)
- And hundreds more examples across every discipline imaginable: quantum physics, circus performance, religion, medical technology, archeology, computer and cognitive science, poetry and mathematics
Building 21 became something rare: a place where ideas are allowed to exist before they make sense, where failure is not a risk but a method, where the future is not predicted but prototyped.
After 9 years of Beautiful, Limitless, Unconstrained, Exploration, 300+ interdisciplinary research projects across 52 academic disciplines supported at Building 21, we are now preparing for what's next, either with or without McGill.
We are hoping to find the right connections within the next month that could help us going forward.
✍️ Any signature to show your support is deeply appreciated. SPREAD THE WORD: LIKES, SHARES, REPOSTS. It’s our time to shine!
"""
We thank you for your continued support throughout the years.
— with love, from behind the Big Green Door
5
The Issue
*This is not a petition against McGill.
TL;DR Past April 30, 2026, Building 21 is at risk of disappearing. After 9 beautiful daring years being hosted at McGill University in Montréal, Canada, we are now in search of what's next.
Sign to:
- 👉 Show your love for 9 years of B21!
- 👉 Stand up for interdisciplinary third spaces like B21
- 👉 You will receive an announcement if/when there is news about B21's future
Last Glimpses; experience B21 yourself!
🏡 Mila-B21 Scholar Showcase #1 | Thursday 3 - 6PM, 9 April: [eventbrite link here]
🏡 Mila-B21 Scholar Showcase #2 | Tuesday 3 - 6PM, 21 April: [eventbrite link here]
"""
Since 2017, Building 21 at McGill University has represented not only a space for deep inquisitive research, but also a ground for students to develop their field of expertise in a space where all disciplines have collided.
By trusting young minds and bringing together world-class thinkers, leaders, and artists, we have stumbled upon a model that not only works, but has created the conditions for unlikely paradigms, new inventions, accidental discoveries to emerge, such as:
- Mathilde Papillon’s Topological Deep Learning AI/ML architecture, now applied in Major League Baseball
- Kat Kavanagh’s WaterRangers project, that now monitors over 9,000+ international waterways using citizen science
- Hanah Derue’s “neuroscience-based startup that uses AI and art to help people communicate and manage chronic pain” (McGill Reporter, 2025)
- And hundreds more examples across every discipline imaginable: quantum physics, circus performance, religion, medical technology, archeology, computer and cognitive science, poetry and mathematics
Building 21 became something rare: a place where ideas are allowed to exist before they make sense, where failure is not a risk but a method, where the future is not predicted but prototyped.
After 9 years of Beautiful, Limitless, Unconstrained, Exploration, 300+ interdisciplinary research projects across 52 academic disciplines supported at Building 21, we are now preparing for what's next, either with or without McGill.
We are hoping to find the right connections within the next month that could help us going forward.
✍️ Any signature to show your support is deeply appreciated. SPREAD THE WORD: LIKES, SHARES, REPOSTS. It’s our time to shine!
"""
We thank you for your continued support throughout the years.
— with love, from behind the Big Green Door
5
Petition created on April 1, 2026