The Vassar Street Residence Hall provides student housing at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology on a linear site adjacent to the railroad tracks near Briggs Field. The building is organized as a series of four distinct masses that respond to the elongated geometry of the site while establishing a new edge along the previously underutilized corridor. The brick façade draws on the material character of the surrounding industrial buildings, grounding the new construction within the architectural context of the area.

Each of the four masses operates as its own residential community within the larger building. Student housing is arranged in clusters with shared lounges and study spaces, creating smaller-scale social environments nested within the overall population. Between the masses, a tree-filled courtyard and a plaza provide green space and outdoor gathering areas that connect the residence hall to the broader campus. The building includes a dining hall, cooking spaces, game rooms, and maker spaces—amenities accessible to the wider MIT student population that extend the hall’s function beyond housing alone.

The project incorporates green roofs, stormwater management through underground retention beds and porous planted areas, extensive bicycle parking, a high-performance building envelope, efficient mechanical and lighting systems, low-flow plumbing, and Energy Star appliances. The building is LEED Platinum certified.

The Vassar Street Residence Hall project was developed in collaboration with DiMella Shaffer as Executive Architect.