MIT Vassar Street Residence Hall

The 170,000sf Vassar Street Residence Hall stretches approximately 500ft along the edge of the MIT campus adjacent to the Charles River. In addition to dormitories that accommodate 450 residents, there are communal kitchens, lounges, practice rooms, a maker space, and a new cafeteria. The five-level superstructure is flat-plate concrete supported on 25ft column bays aligned with the architectural layout. Volumes project perpendicularly from the rectilinear portion of the building, creating south-facing terraces and courtyards screened by cantilevered walls, and the narrow, western face of the building cantilevers at the second level. The building also features sculptural staircases outboard of the primary building perimeter and a cantilevered roof at the bike parking area, which are framed in steel. Passive House standards for energy efficiency guided the concrete superstructure’s façade panel fabrication and installation.