Cambridge, Massachusetts

Massachusetts Institute of Technology
Simons Building for Mathematics

The Department of Mathematics occupies Building 2 within MIT’s original 1916 complex known as the Main Group. Our rehabilitation of Building 2 includes the restoration of its limestone façade and new vacuum-glass windows that replicate the original windows. Renovations include new building systems with heat recovery and redundancy, active and passive chilled beams, acoustic improvements, and accessibility upgrades.

New interior glazed partitions at shared spaces brighten corridors and make departmental activities more visible.  The renewal of the historic central stairwell integrates a 60-foot tall public art installation under new skylights. The day-to-day lives of the 675-person mathematics community of faculty, students, and staff are enhanced by new gathering and collaborative spaces, reconfigured offices, and flexible furnishings.

A rooftop addition merges contemporary expression with historic character, providing the Department with additional office, classroom, and commons spaces that have views across the Charles River to Boston’s skyline.
Client
Massachusetts Institute of Technology
Status
Completed 2016, LEED Gold
Project Size
Renovation | 93,000 GSF New Construction | 13,500 GSF
Program
Classroom, Seminar, Faculty and Student Office, Commons
Awards
SCUP/AIA-CAE Excellence in Architecture Merit Award
Cambridge Historical Commission Preservation Award
“Having watched over this renovation since its inception in 2010 when I was head of Mathematics, I am deeply gratified to see it brought to its magnificent completion. The once-dingy hallways now filled with light, the common spaces with lively conversation and their blackboards with mathematics, this masterful transformation demonstrates what can be accomplished with these old walls.”
— Michael Sipser, Dean of the School of Sciences, MIT

Our Process

Ann Beha Architects, now Annum Architects
Project Team
Ann Beha FAIA, Thomas Hotaling AIA, Ed Rice AIA, Ric Panciera AIA, Stacey Chapman AIA, Doug Jack AIA, Stephanie Squibb (ABA/Annum); Wessling Architects, Speweik Masonry Consulting, SGH (Envelope); Nitsch Engineering (Civil); Robert Silman Associates (Structural); WSP Group (MEP / FP / Tel / Data); Acentech (Acoustics); RDK (AV); Wil-Spec (Specifications); HLB Lighting Design (Lighting); The Green Engineer (Sustainability); Hughes Associates (Code); A. M. Fogarty (Cost); Campbell-McCabe (Hardware); Bond Brothers (Construction Management); Peter Vanderwarker (Photography)

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