The Banff International Research Station is physically located on the campus of the Banff Centre. BIRS occupies all of Corbett Hall and the lower half of the adjoining Max Bell Building.  Both parts of the facility are wheelchair accessible.

Corbett Hall

Accommodation: Participants of BIRS programs are housed in Corbett Hall, which has 50 rooms. Each room has a queen-sized bed, a Sun Ray terminal connected to the BIRS computer system as well as the Internet, an ethernet port for laptops, and a desk. The rooms are each equipped with a clock-radio, a coffee-maker, and an iron and ironing board. The majority of rooms share a bathroom with one other room. We make every effort to keep each pairing all male/all female.  Bathrooms are equipped with hair-dryers and supplied with towels, soap, shampoo and lotion.

Corbett Hall 5210 - Common Lounge: Where coffee breaks are taken. Espresso and other snacks are available, with contributions made on an honor system. The lounge is accessible 24 hours/day so participants can relax there at any time - there is a sofa, a fireplace, some board games and a television (in addition to some tables.)

Corbett Hall 5310 - Reading Room:  A good place for quiet and study. There are two PCs connected to the network as well as a scanner, a network printer, one Sun Ray terminal connected to the BIRS computer system, several ethernet ports, wireless networking and a white board. Recent publications of the American Mathematical Society, the CRM, and the Fields Institute are available for perusal.

Corbett Hall 5410 - 2 Team Rooms:  These are normally used for the research activities of the RIT or FRG programs. Each is set up for 4 people.  The two rooms share a network printer.  Each room has:
- a white board
- two Sun Ray Terminals
- ethernet network ports and wireless networking
- workgroup laser printer
- two desks
- a discussion table.

Corbett Hall 5110 - Main Office:
- copier
- fax machine
- office supplies.

The Main Office is the location of the offices of the Station Manager and Systems Analyst.

Laundry Facilities: There is a coin-operated washer and dryer located across the hall from the Main Office.

Max Bell Complex

The Max Bell complex has 5 rooms reserved exclusively for the use of BIRS programs.

Max Bell Room 159 - Main Lecture Room: Most workshop lectures are held here.  The room has:
- a ceiling-mounted LCD Projector with remote control
- two overhead projectors
- two projection screens
- a digital document camera
- three chalkboards
- wireless Internet access
Capacity:  42

Max Bell Room 158 - Small Lecture Room:
- 2 chalkboards and 2 whiteboards
- a projection screen (mobile projector upon request)
Capacity:  18

Max Bell Room 157 - Terminal Room:
- a projection screen
- 1 whiteboard
- 6 Sun Ray Terminals with Internet Access
Capacity:  8

Max Bell Room 156 - Small Lecture Room:
- a projection screen
- 1 chalkboard
Capacity:  22

Max Bell Room 155 - Small Discussion Room:
- a projection screen
- 1 whiteboard
- an upright piano
Capacity:  6

Poster Wall:  This is a 5 meter (length wise) magnetic wall in the hallway outside the lecture rooms on which posters may be displayed for the duration of a workshop.

Computer Networks:  The BIRS computing environment consists of two networks, one for thin-client Sun Ray terminals, and one for direct connectivity to the Internet via the Banff Centre's network (wired and wireless).

The Sun Rays have 15" LCD panels with a keyboard, mouse and network connection. They have no moving parts, so they are completely silent.  They connect to a central Sun server that runs Solaris 10 and the GNOME 2.6 desktop environment.  The full suite of standard UNIX software is installed, as well as the most popular tools for mathematics publishing (LaTeX, Emacs, etc).  The high-speed, permanent Internet connection and a robust selection of Internet software is always available via these terminals.

The guest network for laptops is a fast ethernet network with ports available in all bedrooms, in most meeting areas, and in the main lecture room.  Configuration for network access is done automatically via DHCP.   The guest network is also accessible via wireless networking (802.11b/g) in all areas of BIRS.

Library:  BIRS has a very small, but growing, library.  It has online access to MathSciNet and other online resources.  Participants who have online services at their home institutions are encouraged to establish proxy accounts which will allow them journal access from BIRS.

The Banff Centre has a very nice arts/music library which has a good collection of sheet music as well as recorded music and video material.  BIRS participants are welcome to use this library.

The Banff Centre:  The Banff Centre is a centre for fine arts programs, leadership development, mountain culture, and, since 2003, BIRS.  It is situated in the town of Banff part way up Tunnel Mountain on a peaceful and secluded site.

It has an athletic complex with swimming pool, running track, workout room, climbing wall etc., all of which are available to BIRS participants.  For more on the Banff Centre and its current artistic program, please refer to the Banff Centre webpage http://www.banffcentre.ca.

During your stay at BIRS, you can be contacted by telephone through The Banff Centre switchboard, which is open 24 hours, at +1-403-762-6100.