Foulab, Montréal’s first hackerspace

An edited version of a publication on HeriPhotography

At the edge of the St-Henri neighborhood, I find an old industrial building.

By the looks, it could host a rave party.

Upstairs is a cooperative run by artists.

And the end of a corridor, marked by a red blinking arrow is Foulab, Montréal’s historically first hackerspace.

Members join the Foulab hackerspace to imagine, design and work on maker projects.

It’s also a social space for geeks in its own right.

Fiercely independent, Foulab is not affiliated with an institution or corporation. Nor does it want to.

The space is currently maintained by a dozen members. Many more join in its open doors Tuesday nights.

Foulab also hosts public events, such as electronic workshops.

Here is Foulab’s logo.

Foulab has been 100% financially independent for the past 4 years, through members contributions and workshops. In the long term, they hope to get more machines (such as large 3D printers), similar to other hackerspaces in other Canadian cities.

Alex helps manage the space:

Electronics new and old are stocked, donated by members and friends:

There are servers, other exotic computers, and even mechanical teletypewriters!

Here’s an old Apple II computer:

Foulab also has advanced tools like oscilloscopes, small and large 3D printers or heavy-duty machinery too expensive for an individual to own or rent.

As you can see, Foulab is not short of equipment. At its core, the real value however is a quiet space free from judgement or from prying eyes.

I have met a member working on a geo-locating mechanism for his rocketry hobby:

Foulab has of course dozens of different electronic parts, to repair electronics, build new ones, or just have fun:

Here’s a musical instrument done at a public maker event. There are wooden keys as well as a paper score to let the air (and music) go through:

The Foulab members like also to work on fun projects, such as LED displays or this amplifier creatively made with off-the-shelf transistors costing about $3

Brands typically use transistors costing 20 times more. I like the ingenuity!

The crowd at Foulab is an eclectic mix of programmers, techies, travelers or artists. A few have PhDs, a few have hacked systems, others are outcasts and all are free-thinkers and innovators.

On the open doors Tuesday nights, you can talk to members and visitors, or head to one of the workspace and do a soldering job. That night, I saw one dutch woman as well as another group of French students working on a laptop add-on.

The members travel also to various science and maker conferences, and are in a way, part of an international network. And in between, there are hardware hackathons.

Foulab is also a coworking space — at $75/month, you’ve got a space to work on your project.

As a playground for freethinkers and makers, it certainly is not for everyone, yet I see Foulab as one of Montréal’s hidden gems.