The Queen’s campus embodies the inclusive spirit of the university, and it is continually evolving to meet the needs of the community. Now, a new 3D interactive digital map will make Queen’s vibrancy, accessibility, and inclusiveness more visible.

“This campus map will help all members of our community feel more welcome and connected, whether they are visiting for the first time or have been with the university for several years,” says Vice-Principal (Finance & Administration) Donna Janiec. “We strive to offer spaces and resources that serve the diverse needs of our community, and this map will make everything we have in place easier to find.”

The Campus Planning and Real Estate team collaborated with University Relations on the project and worked together to identify the functionality and campus resources that needed to be highlighted on the new map. One of the top priorities was to share accessibility and inclusion supports. Users can locate these and other resources on the map by choosing to highlight specific themes or topics.

“The new digital map features much more than the just the buildings, paths, and roads on campus. It also effectively highlights the wide array of resources available to people, from accessible emergency blue lights to gender neutral washrooms to reusable bottle filling stations,” says Vice-Principal (University Relations) Michael Fraser. “Stakeholders from across the university community helped us carefully build the map and we expect it to continue to grow richer in detail over time.”

Accessible entrances and washrooms, for example, can be highlighted on the map. Indigenous spaces, family-friendly spaces for diaper changing or breastfeeding, and multi-faith spaces for prayer and meditation can also be tagged. An accessible wayfinding feature will be added in the coming weeks to help users plan routes that meet accessibility needs.

Queen’s has invested in making sustainability central to campus life, and the new map highlights many of these resources. Alternative transportation supports, such as secure bike storage and bus stops, can be identified by location, as well as electric vehicle charging stations. Reusable bottle filling stations, green roofs and campus community gardens can also be highlighted on the map.

3D models and Queen’s locations beyond Kingston

The new map uses 3D models of the campus buildings to give users a sense of what it feels like to experience campus in person. While exploring the map, users can take advantage of the 360-degree functionality to see how buildings look from different directions or help plan routes for a campus visit.

In addition to the Kingston campus, the new map also helps users find their way around the Bader International Study Centre in England as well as the Toronto and Kingston North locations.

The new map integrates with the virtual tours of campus created by Undergraduate Admissions and Recruitment.

A map that evolves with the campus

The digital map is a flexible tool that can be updated to capture the latest developments on campus, such as the construction of new spaces. Short-term changes can also be made to the map to reflect road closures or parking restrictions for large campus events, such as convocation, homecoming, and residence move-in.

“The new map is very much a living resource that is designed to evolve along with the campus,” says Tony Gkotsis, Director, Campus Planning and Real Estate. “If anyone in our community has thoughts about spaces or amenities that could be highlighted more effectively, they are encouraged to submit feedback to our team.”

See the map and submit feedback on the campus map website. Feedback can also be submitted through an online form.