Simmons Hall

Steven Holl – Simmons Hall, MIT, Cambridge, Massachusetts, USA, 2002

Simmons Hall opened in 2002 as a dormitory for MIT students.

It has been nicknamed “The Sponge,” because architect Steven Holl modeled it like a sea sponge. The building houses 350 student rooms. It contains 5.538 windows and is constructed of prefabricated reinforced concrete supported by steel panels.
When MIT commissioned Steven Holl to design a dormitory in 1999, he had a clear goal: the space around and inside the building should stimulate interaction between students. MIT focused on the use and function of the building, and Steven Holl – with his artistic ideas – made this ten-story dormitory a small city with opposing and harmonious architectural elements, with voids and solids, opaqueness and transparency. It would be a porous structure that would absorb light through a series of large openings that cut through the structure, allowing light to filter in in sections. These openings then became interactive spaces for students, offering views at different levels. In his original drawings, Holl referred to these openings in the building as “lungs” that bring in natural light while circulating air. The 18.000 square meter project not only houses student housing, but also a 125-seat theater, an evening cafeteria, and a street-level restaurant.
Source: Massachusetts Office of Tourism (www.massvacation.it)