Overview
Status
Completion Date
Themes and priorities
The 22-story Cecil and Ida Green Building (Building 54), designed by I.M. Pei and completed in 1964, is currently home to MIT’s Department of Earth, Atmospheric and Planetary Sciences (EAPS) and the MIT-Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution (WHOI) Joint Program. The infrastructure renewal project upgraded the building's envelope and systems to enable the ongoing and long-term research needs of these programs. A partner project (the new Moghadam Building, undertaken concurrently) renovated the Green Building's primary lecture hall and expanded programming space.
In addition to the Building 54 envelope upgrade, the project included replacing the roof, renewing the concrete façade, and updating bathrooms and other building interiors. Elevators were modernized, major electrical and mechanical systems were upgraded and optimized, and a new main electrical subsystem was installed. Additional improvements included code-required updates to ensure the building is accessible to the whole community. The building's large radome was replaced, and its rooftop equipment layout and support were redesigned for greater efficiency. In additional to improving occupant comfort, the project enhanced building performance.
Image credits
Details
Address
School or Unit
Use
Project Team
Architect: Beyer Blinder Belle Architects & Planners LLP, Boston, MA
Construction manager: Barr & Barr, Natick, MA
MIT Team: Megan Kefalis, Lachlan Patterson
Design Features
- New accessible restrooms throughout the building
- Public area finish improvements including lounges, flooring, lighting, and paint
- Comprehensive renewal of passenger elevators and roof lift
- Code improvements to stairwells and other public areas
- Replacement of building roof and railings
- Improvements to various building life safety systems
- Renewal of building weather mast
- Replacement of the rooftop radome, and renewal and modernization of the radio equipment
- Replacement of the rooftop “radio shack”
- Updated building signage
Sustainable Design Elements
- Replacement of building exterior sealants
- Renewal and repair of exterior building concrete
- New main electrical substation
- New building supply and exhaust air handlers
- New advanced energy recovery system
- New digital building management system (BMS)
- New sanitary sewer stack
- New tempered water infrastructure