It has long been a goal of the Institute toprovide more housing for our students, par-ticularly our graduate students. At the sametime, the City of Cambridge has as one ofits highest priorities an increase in the supplyof housing affordable to diverse populationsin Cambridge. These goals are comingtogether in a new housing initiative by MIT.

This initiative will create housing formore than 1,100 undergraduate and gradu-ate students in new and renovated buildingsand thereby free up additional rental unitswithin the overheated housing market inCambridge.

Campus HousingOne of the major emphases of MIT’s TaskForce on Student Life and Learning was to create a stronger sense of campus com-munity. The housing initiative will mark abig step in this direction — by making itpossible for all first-year students to live on campus and by providing housing for a significant number of graduate students.

The three campus housing projectsinclude:• the 350-bed undergraduate residence on

Vassar Street;• renovation of the building at 224 Albany

Street — a former storage warehouse —into housing for 120 graduate students;

• construction of a new building on the lotat Sidney and Pacific streets for approxi-mately 600–700 graduate students.When these new residences are occupied,

MIT will be able to house nearly 50 percentof its graduate students in Institute-sponsored housing.

We are eager to get all three of these projects underway. Plans for the graduateprojects are moving forward; we have recentlyhired architects and are refining the program,based on the substantial consultation thattook place with graduate students in 1997about plans for graduate housing. Theundergraduate residence, unfortunately, isdelayed by an appeal of the special permit

granted to the project by the city’s planningboard, and we are working to resolve thismatter as quickly as possible.

We are very pleased to be able to enhanceour campus community in this way at a timewhen the demand for housing in Cambridgeis particularly high. Many of the studentswho will live in our new residences are nowrenting in Cambridge, and this initiativeshould help reduce the pressure on thehousing market and thus help to achieve one of the city’s highest priorities.

Affordable Community HousingMIT’s commitment to enhancing the afford-ability of housing follows from a history ofcontributions made over the past threedecades.

In the 1970s, MIT constructed 700turnkey units of housing for the elderly inthree neighborhoods in Cambridge.

During the 1980s and 1990s, as part ofthe University Park development, MITmade a commitment to build 400 units ofhousing, including 150 units of affordablehousing. The total number of units hasclimbed to 650 — over 50 percent moreunits than originally proposed. The afford-able units are distributed among the build-ings along Brookline Street.

The Institute continues to explore ways to help relieve housing pressures inCambridge as we enter a new decade.

This housing initiative is the first step in what we expect to be a multi-prongedprogram to address the need for affordablehousing by members of the MIT andgreater Cambridge communities. ■

Throughout the last century, MIT neverstopped building for the future, but somedecades have been busier than others.

The Institute’s first great surge in con-struction began in 1913, when MIT was stilllocated in Boston’s Back Bay. In that year,ground was broken for the series of inte-grated buildings that would frame whatwould one day be known as Killian Court.Designed by architect W. Welles Bosworth(Class of 1889), the new core campus wasready for occupancy in 1916 — and the entireMIT community relocated to its new homeunder Bosworth’s classical dome and friezes.

A second major spurt of constructionactivity on the MIT campus began duringthe 1950s, when the Institute’s faculty beganto expand on the extraordinary advances inscience and technology made during and justafter World War II. Most of the 11 build-ings dating from this decade were designedto house research and teaching programs,but perhaps the most notable were the creations of the renowned Finnish architect

Eero Saarinen; his designs for the MITChapel (1955) and Kresge Auditorium(1956) remain compellingly contemporaryeven today.

In the 1960s and the 1970s, MIT contin-ued its growth as a global research universityand, as in the 1950s, much of the new activ-ity was driven by steady growth in researchsupport from the federal government. Indeed,because most institutional structures requirerenovation every 30 years or so, the fact that23 MIT buildings date from the 1960s hascreated the need for a major renovationeffort today — as in the current rehabilitationof Building 18, a creation of I.M. Pei (Class of 1940) that first opened in 1969.

Of course, the need to renovate andupgrade ’60s and ’70s-era infrastructure isonly one facet of MIT’s building programfor 2000 and beyond. With its blend of residential, athletic, recreational, academicand research facilities, the new programpromises to be one of the most ambitious in MIT history — and to spur a level of physical development and activity not seenon the Institute campus for 30 years. ■

Massachusetts Institute of Technology June 2000

Building Program

Overview of

Campus Construction

inside…

A Special Report from the Office of MIT President Charles M. Vest

UpdateBuildingthe Future: A message from Pres ident Charle s M. Vest

As a community, a campus and a culture,MIT has always been defined by the idealsof innovation and improvement. Whileother schools may have cultivated (or inher-ited) an atmosphere of timelessness andserenity, the Institute has grown and thrivedin an atmosphere of ferment and activity. All of us at MIT believe that we are movingrelentlessly forward into a future of our ownmaking — a future that we are determinedto make better than our past, both for our students and for society as a whole.

In short, we believe in the idea of progress.We also therefore accept the necessity ofchange, since, as the historian Henry SteeleCommager once observed, “Change doesnot necessarily assure progress, but progressimplacably requires change.”

Our physical campus is, in many ways, a visible manifestation of MIT’s commit-ment to a better future through innovationand the development of new knowledge.Though never entirely quiescent, there aretimes when our campus building program is particularly ambitious — times of intenseintellectual ferment, creativity and opportu-

nity. This is one of those times. (See relatedstory on historical trends in campus development,“Space Over Time.”)

We are now embarked on the most ambi-tious plan to improve and enhance our phys-ical campus and infrastructure in more than30 years. It is a plan that, both in its broadoutlines and specific details, closely mirrorsour intellectual agenda and our commitmentto enhance the quality of student life andlearning.

Strategic InitiativesOver the past several years, the MIT com-munity has collaborated in the developmentof major strategic initiatives in research,education and campus life. These initiativeshave been defined through several recentstudies and planning processes, includingthose conducted by the Task Force onStudent Life and Learning, the Committeeon the Undergraduate Program, theCommittee on the Freshman Year and theResidence System Steering Committee.These initiatives are now being furtherrefined through strategic planning by eachSchool and each department.

Many of these initiatives were articulatedin the Report of the President, 1997–98.Entitled “The Path to Our Future,” thatreport summarized the case for change inMIT’s academic and research program, out-lined our long-term plan and addressed thecentral question of how that plan would befinanced, including the role of our capitalcampaign.

These ventures range from residential andcampus life to communication and informa-tion sciences, to the brain and neurosciences,to the arts, to entrepreneurship and manage-ment, to name just a few examples of whatlies ahead.

These initiatives, as well as the broadstrengthening of support for our faculty’sresearch and teaching, carry major implica-tions for our campus buildings and infrastruc-ture. In order to support this agenda, MITmust therefore move forward on severalconstruction fronts at once:

Renewal of FacilitiesFirst, we have dramatically increased andaccelerated our program to refurbish and

(continued on page 4)President Charles M. Vest

Construction of the original Cambridge campus,1910s.

Dreyfus Chemistry Building, constructed 1960s, renovated 2000s.

Swimming pool in the sports and fitness center, to be constructed in the 2000s.

at MIT:Space Over TimeThe 1910s , ’50s , and ’60s were prior decades o f major

change and growth

A Shared Goal

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Baker HouseThis undergraduate residence, designed by Alvar Aalto, has been comprehensivelyrestored on the occasion of its fiftiethanniversary. The replacement of all windowswill take place in the next phase of construc-tion in the summers of 2001 and 2002.Approximate construction period: April 1996 –August 2002. Architect: Perry Dean Rogers & Partners

Sports and Fitness CenterA sports and fitness center, to be built between the existing JohnsonAthletics Center and the Stratton Student Center, will include a 50-meter pool, seating for approximately 450 spectators, recreation andteam locker rooms, a health fitness center, a sports medicine trainingfacility, an equipment desk, and a laundry room. The barbecue pitscurrently on the site will be relocated for future use. Approximate construction period: Fall 2000 – May 2002. Architect: Roche & Dinkelooand Sasaki Associates

Undergraduate ResidenceThis Progressive Architecture Award design winner will house350 undergraduates. Incorporated into the design are publicand private spaces for the residents including study loungeareas and computer rooms. The building is designed in anopen plan — open to light and air, and open to the residentswho will live, work, eat, study, and be entertained within itswelcoming spaces. Approximate construction period: September2000 – August 2002. Architect: Steven Holl Architects and PerryDean Rogers & Partners

Guggenheim Laboratory (Building 33)The Department of Aeronautics and Astronautics is currently renovating itsfacilities to create a new 38,000-square-foot Learning Laboratory for ComplexSystems, which will bring faculty and students together around the syntheticproduct development process. Approximate construction period: June 1999 –August 2000. Architect: Cambridge Seven Associates

Chiller 6 CUP ExpansionThe Central Utility Plant will beexpanded to support the Stata Center and other new facilities on campus.Approximate construction period: October1999 – October 2000

Vassar Street UtilitiesThe installation of new utility lines (steam, chilled water, fire protection, electrical and telecommunications ducts) will support the new undergraduate residence, the new sports and fitness center, and the Stata Center. Approximate construction period: February 2000 – October 2002. Engineering firm: S E A Consultants Inc.

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3

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Stata CenterThe 350,000-square-foot Ray and MariaStata Center for Computer, Information and Intelligence Sciences will create a gateway to MIT at the northeast sectorof the campus. The building includesoffice and research space, a “studentstreet,” a large lecture hall, four class-rooms, a child care center, and a new fitness space adjoining the existing Alumni Pool. Approximate constructionperiod: May 2000 – Fall 2003. Architect:Frank O. Gehry and Associates

Albany Street GarageThe renovation to this parking facility will include thereplacement of deteriorated columns and repair of thedriving and parking surfaces. Approximate constructionperiod: June – September 2000

Media Lab ExpansionThe Media Laboratory will expand on a site adjacent to its existing facilities in theWiesner Building. The new structure will house a range of research and educationalprograms relating to the future of information and learning technologies and theirapplication for both everyday life and creative expression. Prior to construction, utility relocation will occur in the adjacent streets. Approximate construction period:Spring 2001 – December 2003. Architect: Fumihiko Maki & Associates, with LeersWeinzapfel Associates

Dreyfus Building (Building 18)Laboratory facilities and infrastructure in this Department of Chemistry building will be renovatedand modernized in order to meet today’s research demands and to enhance life-safety systems.Approximate construction period: Summer 2000 – August 2003. Architect: Goody, Clancy & Associates

Random HallThis undergraduate residence will undergo a renovation as partof the Fire Safety Systems Renewal Program. The safety pro-gram will upgrade, where necessary, all fire alarms, sprinklers,fire stops, doors, and egress lighting to ensure better safety on campus. Approximate construction period: June – August 2000

duPont Athletic CenterThe renovation to the duPont main locker rooms will accom-modate athletes during the construction of the new sports andfitness center. Approximate construction period: June – August 2000.Architect: Sasaki Associates

Surface Enhancement ProjectThis resurfacing project continues the state’s enhancement of Massachusetts Avenue. Construction plans include a newpedestrian plaza in Lafayette Square at the intersection ofMassachusetts Avenue and Main Street. Approximate constructionperiod: Spring 2001 – Fall 2001. Sponsor: Massachusetts HighwayDepartment

East CampusThis undergraduate residence will have renovations to its fire alarms,sprinklers, fire stops, doors, and egress lighting as part of the infra-structure renewal effort to improve safety in campus buildings.

Massachusetts Avenue Storm Drain ProjectThe City of Cambridge will install large drainpipes that will pro-vide significant drainage improvements over the existing system.The improvements should relieve overflow problems during heavyrain storms. Approximate construction period: June 2000 – Spring2001. Sponsor: Cambridge Department of Public Works

improve our existing physical plant. In suchprojects as the rehabilitation of Building 33for the Department of Aeronautics andAstronautics, a systematic renovation ofclassrooms throughout the originalBosworth buildings, and a thorough upgrad-ing of the Chemistry Department’s Building18, we are working to provide faculty andstudents with the facilities they need to sup-port cutting-edge educational and researchactivities into a new century. This commit-ment to physical renewal also extends to our residence halls — where we have madesignificant investments in projects at BakerHouse and Senior House — as well as toless visible but equally vital areas such as ourcampus-wide safety systems.

New Academic FacilitiesSecond, we are working to provide newfacilities designed to support the emergingmultidisciplinary activities that will drive ouracademic agenda for decades to come.Notable among these new facilities is theRay and Maria Stata Center for Computer,Information and Intelligence Sciences. Workhas already begun on this 350,000 square-foot facility, which, in a link to MIT’s innov-ative past, is rising on the site of Building20. Upon completion, it will house theLaboratory for Computer Science, theArtificial Intelligence Laboratory, theLaboratory for Information and DecisionSystems, and the Department of Linguistics

At the same time, however, the campus-wide scale of this construction and renovationprogram gives us a once-in-a-generationopportunity to foster a stronger sense ofshared purpose and community, and tostrengthen our relationships among ourselvesand also with our off-campus neighbors.

The fulfillment of this unparalleledopportunity will require all of us to givegenerously of our patience, creativity, coop-eration and good will. It will require thoseof us responsible for administering thebuilding program to communicate regularlyand effectively with all affected parties, bothon campus and off.

In the end, however, this era of physicalchange is crucial to the future of theInstitute. It is a necessary part of our prepa-ration for a new century of innovation andprogress — and we owe it the benefit of ourparticipation and our informed support.

No one should be in doubt about thepotential for problems along the way: atransformation of this magnitude is certainto create disruptions and inconvenience forall of us. On the other hand, the end resultwill be worth the difficulties — and the stew-arding of our campus in this time of changeis a privilege that we should all embrace withdetermination and enthusiasm. ■

4

Building the Future (cont. from page 1)

Office of the President 3-20877 Massachusetts AvenueCambridge MA 02139-4307tel 617-253-0148

MIT Department of FacilitiesOffice of the DirectorNE20-277tel 617-253-6167

E-mail comments/inquiries tofacilities-hr-admin@mit.edu

Staff for this publication: Bara Blender, Thomas Champion,Ruth Davis, Eileen Francis, Greg Knight, Kelly Powell, Janet Snover

Production by: Allison Associates

and Philosophy. In addition to the StataCenter, we are in the planning stages fornew facilities to support activities in theMedia Lab, the Sloan School ofManagement, and the neurosciences.

New Campus Life FacilitiesThird, and of equal importance, MIT iscommitted to the construction of severalbuildings that significantly enhance theInstitute’s residential, athletic and recre-ational resources. Foremost among theseare: a new undergraduate residence hall onVassar Street on West Campus; a major newsports and fitness center adjacent to theJohnson Athletics Center; and at a laterphase in the construction plan, a new gradu-ate residence hall. In the meantime, we aremoving ahead with plans to renovateBuilding NW30 at 224 Albany Street inorder to provide housing for approximately120 graduate students.

Information on these projects and more may befound in the centerfold of this special report.

The Challenges AheadThe pursuit of such a wide-ranging programrequires us to exercise special care in thephasing and coordination of all constructionactivity, and to remain alert to the impact ofpublic and private construction projectsadjacent to the MIT campus. There is noquestion that it will prove challenging to oureveryday lives — and we will do our best tomitigate the inconvenience it causes.

PS

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Building CommitteeMembers:Executive Vice PresidentJohn R. Curry, Chair

Director of Facilities Victoria V. Sirianni, Staff to theCommittee

Chairman of the CorporationAlex d’Arbeloff

ChancellorLawrence S. Bacow

Dean of Architecture and PlanningWilliam J. Mitchell, Architectural Advisor to the President

PresidentCharles M. Vest

ProvostRobert A. Brown

TreasurerAllan Bufferd

Vice President for Resource DevelopmentBarbara G. Stowe

Committee for Review ofSpace Planning (CRSP)ChancellorLawrence S. Bacow, Chair

Executive Vice President John R. Curry, Vice Chair

Space Administrator John P. Dunbar, Secretary and Staff to the Committee

Advisors:ProvostRobert A. Brown

Assistant Provost for Administration Doreen S. Morris

Director of Facilities Victoria V. Sirianni

QAand

Q How long will this period of signifi-cant construction work last and whatare the plans to minimize the disruption?Also, what methods will you use tokeep the campus community informed?

A Over the next decade, MIT will addapproximately 10 percent to the total squarefootage of buildings on campus. During thisconstruction, the visual appearance of partsof our campus will be severely affected, andthere certainly will be dirt, noise and somedisruption. We hope that the community is patient because the end result of all thiswork will be a wonderful transformation ofthe campus.

We will do our best to keep the commu-nity informed. For example, we’re workingwith the Chair of the Faculty for input onways to let faculty know about developmentsin a timely way and to minimize the incon-venience to them and their students. We’vealready begun to include a “CampusConstruction Updates” box in Tech Talk, andthat information, and more, will be includedin a web site linked to the Facilities’ homepage. That web site is currently being devel-oped. We’re also trying to communicatewith the students by advertising in The Techand working through other student informa-tion channels.

In addition, we’ll be holding meetingswith the campus neighbors of the variousprojects. We feel that it’s very important that people be able to voice their questionsand concerns. A harder audience to reach is those who are not directly associated witha building but may be affected by the con-struction. That’s why we try to have neigh-bors’ meetings. This process was quitesuccessful when we were constructing theTang Center.

Also, signage is critical to helping peoplenavigate around the construction sites.We’re paying a lot of attention to signage,which will soon increase around campus.

All of our communications efforts willexpand as time goes on. We welcome anysuggestions in this regard.

Q Who decides what new buildings will be constructed?

A The Building Committee is the primarydecision-making group. Chaired byExecutive Vice President John Curry, the

Director of FacilitiesVictoria V. Siriannicommittee’s objective is to guide the overalldevelopment of the campus and its facilities.Although the Building Committee hasexisted for many years, it was revitalizedafter the report from the Task Force onStudent Life and Learning revealed the need for major building initiatives.

In order to involve the community in theplanning for new facilities, the BuildingCommittee establishes a client team for eachproject. With some of the larger projects, a member of the client team is invited to bea member of the project team, which is thegroup that determines uses of the building.That way, they have first-hand involvementwith the decisions made about their space.

Q Who’s in charge of managing the newconstruction projects, and are thereprinciples of campus development thatare guiding the work?

A We just hired two outstanding people to lead our construction efforts: DeborahPoodry, director of capital project develop-ment, and Paul Curley, director of capitalconstruction. Both have a wealth of back-ground in building design and construction.Currently, they’re in the process of estab-lishing and coordinating a constructionmanagement team.

One of their top priorities is to develop a policies and procedures manual for ourcapital projects, and that work has begun.

Q Our campus is obviously in an urbansetting, so we didn’t have a lot of greenspace to begin with. Now, the construc-tion work has eliminated even more ofit. When the new buildings are finished,will MIT be paying attention to makingthose areas green again?

A Yes, we are developing an integrated landscape plan that will not only providegreen spaces but also will connect the campusmore effectively. There will be places forpeople to congregate outside and spend timein a relaxed way, something we need more of at MIT.

In the meantime, the construction workwill temporarily consume some of the grassyareas on campus. When that occurs, it willbe kept to a minimum and plans for restora-tion and enhancement of that space will bean explicit part of the project.

QTraffic around campus has been heavier lately, both because of MIT’sconstruction work and the city’s projects. Do you have any suggestionsfor commuters?

A It’s true that our campus projects as well as the city’s work on the MassachusettsAvenue storm drain will affect traffic patternsand inconvenience drivers. MIT’s utilitywork on Vassar Street also will create delays.For these reasons, I encourage more mem-bers of our community to use public trans-portation, if that’s an option for them.

QThere also seems to be a lot of reno-vation work being done on campus.Who makes the decisions about whichof those projects are funded and theschedule on which they’ll be renovated?

A The Committee for Review of SpacePlanning, often referred to by its acronym of CRSP, makes those decisions. Chaired byChancellor Larry Bacow, CRSP is chargedwith space planning and capital budgeting to ensure the most strategic allocation anduse of the Institute’s physical and relatedfinancial assets.

The deans and vice presidents assist inprioritizing the requests for space changesfrom academic and administrative areas, and CRSP respects those priorities. Thecommittee then guides the allocation ofInstitute funds for approved projects. CRSPis actually responsible for the assignmentand allocation of all space on campus.

Recently, MIT’s senior officers and theExecutive Committee of the Corporationmade a commitment to significant infra-structure renewal in order to preserve theintegrity of our older buildings. This workisn’t always as visible as new construction,but it’s no less important. ■

with the

Director of Facilities Victoria V. Sirianni

The Alexander Dreyfoos Building in the Stata Center.

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