An industrial-age monolith, the Metropolitan Warehouse at MIT, is a hub for design and the new home of the departments, labs, and centers of the School of Architecture and Planning (SA+P) and the Morningside Academy for Design.
The five-hundred-foot-long solid brick building, designed in 1894 by Frederic Pope and expanded in four subsequent additions by 1916 known as the Met, evokes the safety and security of a fortress, with its two-foot-thick walls, corner tower, crenellated corbeled cornices, and small slit windows. Advertised as “indestructible” and suitable for the storage of bronzes, pianos, carriages, and furs, the facility was built to protect the treasures of Boston’s wealthiest families. The Met’s prominent location at the heart of the expanding university campus, however, made it an attractive setting for a design hub engaging the city and inviting the community to pass through the building. The challenge was to transform the warehouse’s low floor-to-floor heights, tight column grid, and absence of windows producing dark, cellular spaces into a dynamic locus of design activity.
A series of carved-out voids distributed across the five separate buildings accommodates makerspaces, design studios, research spaces, and community spaces. Within each void, a long-span stack of studios suspended from the existing roof brings light into the heart of the building. The residual cellular structure surrounding these stacks is used for offices, meeting rooms, classrooms, and other small programs. Neighborhoods within each building maintain a shared sense of intimacy and purpose. A continuous linear stairway with skylight above, rising from the first-floor entry at one end of the building to the top floor at the other, acts as a central spine joining these communities.
LWA worked closely with the various institution stakeholders, facilities groups, and the Cambridge Historic Commission to adapt and transform the warehouse. Work included restoration of the brick facades, rebuilding crenellated parapets destroyed in 1938, adding new windows, and curtainwall insertions necessary to accommodate the new program.
The MIT Metropolitan Warehouse is targeting LEED Gold certification.
Collaborating Architect with Diller, Scofidio + Renfro
Renderings Courtesy of Diller Scofidio + Renfro
