The Massachusetts Institute of Technology has completed a dramatic adaptive reuse of the Metropolitan Storage Warehouse, a long, 5-story brick structure that has stood in Cambridge, Massachusetts, for more than a century. The renovated building is now home to MIT’s School of Architecture and Planning, turning a former storage facility into a center for teaching, research, and public engagement.
Originally built in 1894 and expanded through multiple additions into the early 1900s, the building became known locally as “the Met.” MIT acquired it in 1962, and it eventually stopped being used for storage. Its original character was deliberately defensive, with 2-foot-thick masonry walls, a corner tower, corbeled and crenellated cornices, and narrow windows. It was even marketed as “fireproof,” designed to protect valuable belongings for Boston-area families.
That tough, enclosed shell was also the main design problem. The structure was built for objects, not people, with low floor-to-floor heights, a tight column grid, and dark interior spaces. The design team, led by Diller Scofidio + Renfro, opened the building with new glass wall segments, double-height studio areas, and long internal walkways that overlook work areas on all floors. The project is targeting LEED Gold.
From a masonry and structural standpoint, the work is a reminder that “opening up” an old brick warehouse is never just architectural. The team used saw-cutting and other cutting methods to create voids and introduce new support systems. By removing portions of the heavy masonry floor system, the project reduced loads on existing columns and wood piles. That load reduction created enough reserve capacity to support new, lightweight floor slabs that are suspended from above using steel straps and beams tied back to the existing structure.
For mason contractors watching the growth in adaptive reuse, projects like this highlight where the trade adds value, protecting historic masonry features, coordinating new openings through thick walls, and helping the full team understand how older materials and load paths behave once cutting starts.
The new facility is set for formal dedication on Oct. 1.
Read the full, original article from canada.constructconnect.com here.