What do you seek?

Building 21 is an interdisciplinary idea lab supporting McGill undergraduate and graduate students in pursuit of bold and original ideas.

McGill's interdisciplinary idea lab

See who we are

Scholars of all levels & disciplines

Discover our scholars

Join the pursuit of daring research

Get involved

180+

Scholars pursuing interdisciplinary projects

$600, 000+

Funnelled to fellowships and programs

40+

Different departments hosted at B21

900+

Workshops, events, and guest speakers
"Building 21: McGill's Interdisciplinary Lab" screening at the QS Reimagine Education Awards 2024, London, UK.

Who we are

Leading scholars across disciplines to bring unconventional ideas to life.
Learn about our mission
For the sake of discovery
Projects at Building 21 are pursued for the sake of discovery. There are no credits, no grades. Only the pursuit of knowledge.
Safe haven for original ideas
We give scholars no-strings-attached resources to facilitate their exploration. Scholars collaborate to advance the most unconventional ideas.
A community of explorers
We run cohort-based programs that connect the most curious seekers to a tight-knit community. We offer structure, mentorship, and networks.
Our alumni are pushing the boundaries of knowledge and creativity at these institutions

Scholars

We’ve supported hundreds of McGill undergraduate, Master's, and PhD students across all disciplines in their exploration.
See all scholars
Innovation in paradigms
Mathilde Papillon first bridged physics and dance as an undergraduate at B21. This led to Mathilde pioneering a new subfield of Topological Deep Learning as a PhD candidate at the Geometric Intelligence Lab @ UCSB.
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Enabling new paths
Rasha Lama piloted a series of spatial sustainability projects at B21, completely unrelated to her business degree. This contributed to Rasha receiving a graduate scholarship in Land Architecture at the Rhode Island School of Design (RISD).
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From idea to impact
Kat Kavanagh developed the ideas for a citizen science non-profit at B21 that now monitors over 5,000 waterbodies across Canada and has trained over 25,000 Canadians on how to conduct water quality tests.
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"

"B21 is rigorous and free, radical and welcoming, at once wildly exploratory and close to home."
Isabella Chiaravallotti
PhD Plant Science, McGill University
Drawing a poster on a the floor with dogs!

What's On

Come experience Building 21 yourself at 651 Sherbrooke Street West, Montréal.
See upcoming events
A event at Building 21

Events

Our community hosts a variety of events at our space.
Our events calendar
⚡Lightning Talks
Tuesdays, 12 - 2pm & Fridays, 3-5pm
🍲 Soup & PhD
Thursdays, 12pm - 2pm
McGill Neurotech
Team-based
ENCODE Justice Canada
Event-based

"

B21 showed me what obtaining a university education is all about: exploration, collaboration, and challenge.
Vincent Van Duong
BS Math & Physics, McGill University
Drawing a poster on a the floor with dogs!

Join us

We’re always looking for brilliant scholars and organizations to advance our mission.
Get involved
A event at Building 21

Apply to be a scholar

See programs

Visit us in person

Event Calendar

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