The Renovation of East Campus: Control and Culture

Abstract

This thesis looks at the tension between university administrators’ goals for their capital projects and the goals of end users, their students. These goals often diverge, given that universities must make decades-long financial decisions, while students’ experiences can be seen as more fleeting. This thesis investigates this tension and what it means for planning processes and architectural design.

The research and analysis center on East Campus, the second oldest dormitory at MIT which opened in 1924. East Campus houses an active student culture based on self-governance, individualism, and privacy, and as the birthplace of hacking it is strongly tied to the wider public identity of MIT and how MIT is promoted to new students. As part of the MIT 2030 capital projects plan, East Campus was marked for renovation to bring it in line with contemporary living and accessibility standards, with construction originally slated to begin in the summer of 2022. However, given differences between MIT administrators and users in approach to undergraduate life, the author believes the renovation may spell the end of East Campus’ unique student culture.

The author graphically and textually documents the early strategic and design stages of renovation, drawing on his experience as a resident advisor, discussions with students, staff, and consultants, and a seat on the renovation’s student/staff committee. The analysis of MIT’s functioning at the institutional level, its user engagement, as well as its conception of residential buildings reveals how certain processes may have negatively impacted the renovation’s potential.

The author argues that a more ambitious design-led tone should be set before strategic options are agreed upon. He tests a set of interactive design games with users at the room, hall, and dormitory scales to gain a deeper understanding of how the East Campus community navigates space. The author translates these findings into an architectural proposal that emphasizes robustness as both a driver of sustainability and enabler of cultural communication. The thesis intends to re-center design in future MIT-led residential projects, which must balance user input, culture, budgetary demands, and donors.