Uncommon to design education, MIT's programs are integrated with the greater university in curriculum, resources, and campus. The network of contiguous buildings that combine to create the campus fosters sharing of common spaces and circulations with neighboring fields of study.
Rogers Building Most of the school facilities are located in or near the
Rogers Building at the main entrance to the central MIT campus (chiefly designed by
William Welles Bosworth); the hallway spaces have been nicknamed the
Infinite Corridor. The fourth floor western end of the Infinite Corridor is lined with studio spaces and classrooms, while other classrooms are dispersed throughout the campus. The "glass bowl" nature of many of the architectural spaces lining the Infinite Corridor invites colleagues across the school for observation and collaboration. Venues along the Infinite Corridor display exhibits that regularly feature the work of faculty, researchers, and students. Additional SAP exhibits may be seen at the
MIT Museum, Wolk Gallery, Keller Gallery, Deans Office Gallery, Rotch Library, and the PLAZmA Digital Gallery.
Rotch Library Originally built in 1938 as part of the Rogers Building (designed by William Welles Bosworth with Harry J. Carlson), MIT's Rotch Library of Architecture and Planning is one of the premier architecture libraries in the United States, supporting the first formal architecture program in the country. Rotch Library is also home to the Aga Khan Documentation Center, the GIS Lab, the Visual Collection, and the Rotch Limited Access collections. Although the library acquired an additional half-floor of space in the mid-1950s, the collection had outgrown its facility by the 1970s. The only available expansion space was a narrow vertical cavity next to the original library. Schwartz/Silver Architects decided to suspend newly-added floors from roof girders which support the weight of the books from above, allowing the elimination of floor beams to maximize use of the narrow footprint. Six new floors were fitted into the same height as the four of the original building, while still allowing for a vertical clearance for a truck turnaround below. A narrow, sky-lit atrium between the old building and the new addition allows sunlight to reach offices and studios in the upper floors, mitigating the unavoidable loss of exterior views. The result is an addition that has been referred to as a "glass cage," which contains the book stacks, limited-access collection, and exhibition gallery, while the renovated original Bosworth building holds the main reading room and administrative offices.
Fab Labs MIT SAP has access to multiple
fab labs, including two along the Infinite Corridor, a woodshop in Building N51 (several blocks away), the Media Lab shop (in Building E14), the Design Center Lab, and other spaces. There is a smartphone app to allow students and staff to locate resources campus-wide and to coordinate access to fab facilities.
Media Lab buildings At the eastern end of the campus, the Wiesner building (E15, designed by
I. M. Pei) mainly houses the Media Lab programs, the
List Visual Arts Center, the School of Architecture and Planning's Program in Art, Culture and Technology (ACT), and MIT's Program in Comparative Media Studies (CMS). In 2009, the Media Lab expanded into a new building (E14) designed by
Pritzker Prize-winning Japanese architect
Fumihiko Maki. The local architect of record is Leers Weinzapfel Associates of Boston. The , six-story building features an open, atelier-style, adaptable architecture specifically designed to provide the flexibility to respond to emerging research priorities. High levels of transparency throughout the building's interior make ongoing research visible, encouraging connections and collaboration among researchers. The two buildings are closely interconnected on several levels, allowing free movement between interior spaces. ==Distinguished alumni and faculty==