DebConf17/Bids/Montreal/Venues/McGill
[edit] McGill University
[edit] Description
McGill Univerity is one of the 4 universities in Montreal. Founded in 1821, it is one of the oldest and most renowned universities in Canada. In fall 2014, McGill was home to nearly 40'000 students, a quarter of which came from all around the world.
McGill's main campus is situated in downtown Montreal at the foot of Mount Royal. Most of its buildings are situated in a park-like campus. The campus is near the Peel and McGill Metro stations. All of the major university buildings were constructed using local grey limestone, which serves as a unifying element.
Star Trek fans be aware: many years ago, William Shatner used to study at McGill. The building we wish to rent for Debconf is even named in his honor!
[edit] Conference facilities
We have approached McGill's undergraduate student union (SSMU) to rent their building, the William Shatner University Centre building. The building is situated on McGill's main campus.
Floor plans of the building can be found here. You can also take a virtual tour of the building here!.
[edit] How much does it cost to rent these facilities?
We are planning to use theses rooms:
Working spaces (Hacklabs):
- Club Lounge (14 days) - 2 800 CAD$
- Room 302 (14 days) - 4 200 CAD$
Server room:
- Green Room (14 days) - 2 800 CAD$
Opening and closing conferences, main talks:
- Ballroom (7 days) - 7 000 CAD$
Talks and discussions:
- Room Lev Bukhman + Room Madelaine Parent (7 days) - 4 550 CAD$
Small meetings
- Blue room (7 days) - 1 400 CAD$
When you add up this, venue would cost 22 750 CAD$.
For the summer, the building is opened Monday to Friday from 7AM to 6PM. During these hours, we do not need to pay for security.
This means if we want to use the building 24h a day for two weeks, we will have to pay for 13 hours each weekday and 24 hours during the weekend. Add this up and it makes 226 hours of security. We would need from 2 to 3 security guards. Normal hourly rate is 23 CAD$/h. If there are 3 guards, one of them becomes "lead security" and has to be payed 26 CAD$/h. We also need a porter, payed 50 CAD$/h.
This table list security prices only. To this has to be added venue price.
| When is the building opened? | How many security hours | 2 guards and porter price | 3 guards and porter price |
|---|---|---|---|
|
177h | 16 992 CAD$ | 21 594 CAD$ |
| 24h for the whole conference (14 days) | 226h | 21 696 CAD$ | 27 572 CAD$ |
[edit] How far away are the locations from each other?
All the rooms are in the same building.
[edit] What kind of places are available suitable for hacklabs, workshops, BoFs and talks?
| Room | Seating | Price | Sound system | Projector | Can be divided | Preview |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Room 302 | 60 | 300 CAD$/day | No | No | Yes | 
|
| Room B-30 | 50 | 200 CAD$/day | No | No | No | 
|
| Club Lounge | 75 | 200 CAD$/day | No | No | No | 
|
| Room Lev Bukhman | 60 | 350 CAD$/day | Yes | Yes | Can be fused with Room Madelaine Parent | 
|
| Room Madelaine Parent | 90 | 300 CAD$/day | Yes | Yes | Can be fused with Room Lev Bukhman | 
|
| Ballroom | 450 | 1,000 CAD$/day | Yes | Yes | ?? | 
|
| Room 108 | 60 | 250 CAD$/day | No | No | ?? | 
|
| Blue Room | 15 | 200 CAD$/day | No | No | No | 
|
| Green Room | 15 | 200 CAD$/day | No | No | No | 
|
All the informations about rental rates can be found here. Additional rates (extras) are listed here.
[edit] Are tables/chairs fixed, or can we arrange them to fit more people/give more room to the people that we need?
The only rooms that have fixed furnitures are the Blue Room and the Green Room. Chairs can be moved, but not the table.
[edit] Is the venue ready for handicapped people?
Totally. The whole building is motion handicapped friendly.
For the visually impaired, all of the signs are clear and big. Floor plans are in bright colors.
For the ones with hearing handicaps, many of the rooms we plan to rent are equipped with microphones and speakers. The ones that are not could be wired for it.
[edit] Access to all areas with ramps and/or elevators? (Note: carrying somebody over some steps is not usually an acceptable option.)
There is a ramp access to the second floor and a motorized door on the first floor. There is an adapted bathroom on the first floor. ALL of the rooms in the building are accessible by wheelchairs, thanks to the main elevator.
[edit] Are there people with experience handling handicapped people?
[edit] What people is it not good for?
None?
[edit] Are blueprints with exact distances available to us (to be kept confidential on request)?
No. We do have access to architectural floor plans with precise scaling though.
[edit] What kind of audio equipment is already present at the auditoriums?
Four speakers already installed in the ballroom. We only need to input sound either via a microphone or a music device. We will need to request a projector and a screen though. More detailed infos to come.
[edit] Will the hacklabs be allowed to stay open 24x7? What time schedule do they offer?
If we can pay for it, yes. See this section for more infos.
[edit] What kind of security will be there?
[edit] Are there any limitations regarding the consumptions of food / alcohol? Where do what limitations apply?
We can eat in these rooms:
- Room 302
- Room B-30
- Club Lounge
- Room Madelaine Parent
- Ballroom
- Room 108
- Green Room
- Blue Room
We cannot eat in these rooms:
- Room Lev Bukhman
Alcohol consumption in any room would require an alcohol permit. There is a student-run bar in the building, Gerts. You find prices for Gerts bar rental inside the building here.
Some pictures of Gerts below!
A little pool game?
Snack bar for late night snacking
Remember, drink reasonably ;)
My little eye spies... A JUKEBOX!!
(Projector) + (N64) + (Mario Kart) = FUNNNN
A babyfoot table, to take a coding break
Maybe we could put that console to use...
Tap beer by the dozen
Normal opening hours
[edit] How far is it to the nearest convenience stores / all-night restaurants?
McGill's main campus can't be more downtown than where it is. The campus is thus only a few minutes away from a lot of stores and restaurants.
[edit] Food
[edit] Caterer options
There is only one practical option for catering within the Shatner building: The Nest.
From their website:
The Nest is McGill’s student-run café, located on the second floor of the SSMU building. The mission of The Nest is to provide McGill students with high quality meals at an affordable price with a focus on environmental, social and financial sustainability in food services, as well as provide opportunities for student employment. The cafe is meant to be a student community space which operates in such a manner to cover all associated expenses and capital investments.
If we do not cater with The Nest, we cannot get access to the cafeteria.
There are a few other options within the Shatner building for caterer:
La prep is a multi-franchise food business.
- The Midnight Kitchen (vegan only)
From their website:
The Midnight Kitchen is a non-profit, volunteer-run collective dedicated to providing affordable, healthy food to as many people as possible. We aim to empower individuals and communities by providing a working alternative to current market-based systems of food collection an distribution. We oppose privatization, corporatization and other processes that actively disempower people by obstructing their access to resources and independence. We will provide education on food issues, both inside and outside of the collective, and provide a space for the exchange of ideas within the community. We recognize that much of the politics surrounding food production and distribution are part of a larger system of oppression. By reclaiming control over the distribution of food in our community we are acting in the pursuit of social and environmental justice and we will support others who share these goals. We will organize and act according to principles of anti-oppression.
Knowing the people from The Midnight Kitchen, it would be difficult to have them cater for the whole event. It is not their mandate to cater for such big events. What could be possible though is have them prepare some of the more special meals and/or snacks. We could also ask them if they would be willing to share the catering with The People's Potato, a similar kind of collective at Concordia University.
[edit] How much are the meals per person per day?
The Nest quoted 20 CAD$ - taxes included - per day per person for 3 meals a day. They say their catering operation is very flexible and they can work with smaller budget if needed.
[edit] Is the eating place near the talks place / the hacklabs
There is a dedicated eating space on the second floor of the Shatner building. The only way to have access to that space is by catering The Nest.
[edit] What kind of food would be served?
The Nest can prepare continental breakfast, sandwich platters, items from their cafe menu such as chili, stir fry and vegetable soups, etc.
We have asked for a possible menu.
[edit] In what fashion? (service to the table, limited buffet, open buffet, etc.)
The Nest's catering is normally limited to limited buffet, but they could provide table service if needed.
[edit] Would food for vegetarian / vegan / lactose-intolerant / gluten-sensitive / religious (of any denomination) people be available?
With The Nest, food for those with dietary restrictions is certainly available. Their kitchen is dairy-free and most of the dishes they serve daily are vegetarian / vegan / gluten-free.
The Midnight Kitchen only does vegan meals.
[edit] How much meals do we need to order to get those kind of "special" meals?
With The Nest, we would not have to order more food in order to receive meals friendly to dietary restrictions. We would simply have to specify this when we are outlining the menu with their cook and we can make the necessary arrangements.
[edit] Will it cost extra to get those special meals?
No extra costs are associated with these meals; the one exception being gluten-free pizza as the dough is slightly more expensive than typical pizza dough.
[edit] In a two week period, how many more or less equal meals can we expect?
We have asked for a detailed menu.
[edit] Network connectivity
[edit] Is the area already wired with regular network infrastructure?
It depends on the rooms. We have asked for more details.
[edit] How much does it cost and how difficult is it to get a big Internet connection?
It is pretty easy to get a 1Gb/s connection. This is a special order and would cost approximately 202.50 CAD$ plus a 140.00 CAD$ installation charge.
[edit] How much work does it imply to cover the area with wireless links?
We could not setup our own wireless network. SSMU has a number of wireless nodes in the building capable of supporting up to 350 average users each. Wifi coverage depends on the number of users and their location in the building.
Increased capacity can be purchased at a cost of of 850.00 CAD$ (this price is based on a previous tech related event, called the Hackathon).
[edit] If we use someone else's infrastructure, how easy / flexible can that be handled, regarding routing / firewall / ip-range / public access / other stuff?
We need very precise informations to get informations on this, because global networking is managed by McGill's IT department. An email has been sent to the list to get theses infos.
[edit] Do we have restrictions on allowed ports?
Technically, no. This has to be double checked with McGill's IT departement.
[edit] Are we traffic-shaped? Or can we set a traffic shaper if we need so?
Traffic is shaped. We cannot set a traffic shaper, but maybe we can ask McGill's it to shape it for us.
[edit] Would it be possible to set up the network before Debcamp?
Yes, but it would cost extra money. We have asked how much.
[edit] Special room
[edit] Server
There is no dedicated server room in the building. We would have to use a normal room to store our servers. We plan to use the Green Room.
[edit] Video
[edit] Accommodation
The simplest and cheapest thing to do woulb be to rent McGill's student residences. The residences are available from May 15th to August 15th. These are the group prices and include taxes:
| Residence name | Location | Room types | Price | "Perks" |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Royal Victoria College | 3 minutes from venue |
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| New Residence Hall | 5-7 minutes from venue |
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| Bishop Mountain Hall | 5 minutes from venue |
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| Carrefour Sherbrooke | 3 minutes from venue |
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| La Citadelle | 15-20 minutes from venue |
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Pictures of Royal Victoria College:
Typical single room at RVC
Shared kitchens
Sinks in the shared bathrooms
A shower in the shared bathrooms
Pictures of New Residence Hall:
Front door
Front door
Front desk
NRH's main hall
A Scotia Bank ATM
A wheelchair accessible public bathroom
Pool & babyfoot tables
Main hall again
One of the elevators
Some stairs
NRH cafeteria
More elevators
Floor numbers are written in braille too
Cafeteria again
Cafeteria again
In case of heart attack
A double room
A double room again
Bathroom
Shower
Bath
Magnetic keycard
View from room
Moderny stairs
Hall
A conference room
Conference room projectors
Conference room again
Public bathrooms
An automatic door
There is a subway right in front of NRH
NRH is situated on two majors crossroad. Perfect for buses!
NRH is right across a supermarket and a cinema!
[edit] Is it able to handle a varying number from 200 to 500 people?
Depending on available space and what residence we choose, yes. Bishop Mountain Hall has up to 800 single rooms. New Residence Hall has 400 rooms in the same building.
Royal Victoria College, the cheapest accommodation, can host up to 272 people. It has 211 single rooms, 26 double rooms and 3 triple rooms. It is possible to add more beds (camp beds?) in the rooms, but it will cost an extra fee.
If we have to host more than 272 people, we can rent other places at other residences (they are all really close one to another).
[edit] Is it able to handle non-native speaking people?
As stated on the Montreal's bid main page, Montreal is a bilingual city. Nearly everybody speaks English, especially people working with tourists.
[edit] Will there be a need of a "Debconf" info-desk, or would the local (hotel or such) people be able to handle that themselves?
[edit] Will it be possible for couples to stay in their own rooms?
Double rooms are available when stated.
[edit] How many room keys would be available?
[edit] Are there other hotels around?
Yes. It would be less convenient, more expensive and further away though.
[edit] Are there rooms ready for handicapped people? How many?
14 Physically Disabled Accessible rooms are available at New Residence Hall.
[edit] Other
[edit] Transit
McGill University is situated on the McGill subway station, on the green line. Since this is downtown, lots of buses pas nearby. The orange line is a few minutes walking distance from McGill station.
