The adaptation and renovation of the landmark Metropolitan Storage Warehouse transforms the massive structure into a vibrant center of architecture, design, and planning, providing a new home for the School of Architecture and Planning (SA+P) and its MIT Morningside Academy for Design (MIT MAD).

The MET’s five brick sections were originally designed by Frederic Pope (first section) and Peabody & Stearns (subsequent additions between 1895 and 1923); it is one of the oldest buildings in the neighborhood and is historically significant. To adapt the dense, dark storage building, the project team inserted four multistory glass-walled segments, creating open interior spaces and allowing for double-height studios. The design includes a new array of larger square window openings transposed over the grid of existing narrow windows, creating an exterior pattern of periodic intersection. Inside, the impact of this change is light-filled offices and meeting rooms.

Through a careful melding of original architecture and new design, the project team created new design studios, fabrication shops, research labs, classrooms, offices, an auditorium, public exhibition galleries, and a multitude of common areas for collaboration. The team worked in consultation with the Cambridge Historical Commission, and many of the building’s fortress-like attributes were retained, including its square brick tower and crenellated corbelled cornices.

As the new home for SA+P, the MET is designed to foster collaborative, interdisciplinary work as well as interpersonal connection. Throughout the building, related spaces are organized into neighborhoods anchored by different aspects of design. Building-long walkways overlook studios and workshops, and a central stairway stretches from the main lobby to the top floor, creating a spine that connects the communities.

The team is targeting LEED Gold for this project.