MIT Beaver Works
Other Projects by Merge Architects
MIT Beaver Works
Cambridge, MA, United States
Project Featured on Sep 12, 2014
Firm
YEAR
2013
Photos
John Horner
MIT School of Engineering collaborated with Merge Architects to develop MIT Beaver Works, a multi-use research space for students, faculty, and technical professionals in the Tech Square hub near MIT's campus in Cambridge. Along with a research lab, the space incorporates a café/lounge area, meeting rooms, and a prototyping shop, creating a collaborative environment to engage MIT students, faculty, and researchers.
The entry area — a lush café/lounge with built-in seating, a café bar, and a storage wall wrapped in radiatta pine plywood — functions as the social hub for the lab. Oversized custom-fabricated felt and wood light fixtures create a warm space for exchanging ideas. Research labs and flexible classrooms flank the café area, encouraging collaboration. The research area features custom-fabricated built-in seating, mobile work surfaces, and storage carts, as well as a meeting pod and a cyber-bar running along the perimeter. The classrooms feature rolling furniture and an operable partition with three layout possibilities providing small, medium, and large classroom spaces as needed for a variety of programming. Throughout the space, flexibility allows for multiple programs, from conferences and classes to events and openings, providing space for research while encouraging interdisciplinary cooperation.
The entry area — a lush café/lounge with built-in seating, a café bar, and a storage wall wrapped in radiatta pine plywood — functions as the social hub for the lab. Oversized custom-fabricated felt and wood light fixtures create a warm space for exchanging ideas. Research labs and flexible classrooms flank the café area, encouraging collaboration. The research area features custom-fabricated built-in seating, mobile work surfaces, and storage carts, as well as a meeting pod and a cyber-bar running along the perimeter. The classrooms feature rolling furniture and an operable partition with three layout possibilities providing small, medium, and large classroom spaces as needed for a variety of programming. Throughout the space, flexibility allows for multiple programs, from conferences and classes to events and openings, providing space for research while encouraging interdisciplinary cooperation.