Architecture, preservation and planning that inspire transformation

Facebook Twitter LinkedIn YouTube Print this page
  • Home
  • Contact Us
  • News
Menu
  • Inspiring Works
  • Architecture
    • Higher Education
      • Academic
      • Business Schools
      • Student Life
      • Science + Technology
      • Campus Planning
    • Civic & Government
  • Planning
    • Campus and Community
    • Real Estate Development
    • Downtowns and Special Districts
    • Transit-Oriented Development
    • Neighborhoods and Housing
    • Waterfronts
    • Region and Community
    • Corridors and Main Streets
    • Resilience
  • Preservation
    • Higher Education
      • Academic
      • Student Life
      • Science + Technology
      • Campus Planning
    • Adaptive Reuse
    • National Historic Landmarks
    • Exterior Restoration
    • Sustainable Preservation
    • Civic & Government
  • People
    • Leadership
    • Culture
  • About Us
    • Sustainability & Resilience
    • Civic Engagement
    • Awards
    • News
    • Careers
    • Contact Us
Brain and Cognitive Sciences Complex
  • Science + Technology
  • /
  • Higher Education
  • /
  • Architecture
  • Architecture
  • /
  • Higher Education
  • /
  • Science + Technology
MIT Massachusetts Institute of Technology Brain and Cognitive Sciences Complex Goody Clancy Architecture Science and Technology

Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA

Signature neuroscience complex creatively combines wet and dry labs

This new building brings together three distinct research entities to create a world-class center for brain science: the McGovern Institute for Brain Research, the Picower Institute for Learning and Memory, and the Department of Brain and Cognitive Sciences. Containing a rich array of wet and dry labs and animal facilities supporting biology, biochemistry, neurobiology, behavioral, and cognitive research, the building is designed around a daylit, sculpturally-shaped atrium lined with tea rooms, faculty offices, and seating terraces to foster interaction among the scientists.

The design addresses a major aspect of the tight urban site with a bold architectural move. A live rail and transit corridor bisects the site longitudinally, and the building straddles the right-of-way to create a single building. Special technical considerations include mitigation of low-frequency vibration that would otherwise disrupt sensitive imaging and research equipment.

  • The lab floors provide the flexibility to meet evolving research needs and the intersection of the various research groups. Labs support cellular, molecular, behavioral, cognitive, and computational neuroscience research, as well as teaching laboratories for undergraduate students.
  • In addition to the research, administrative and support areas, the building includes shared facilities such as an auditorium and seminar rooms.
  • A 90-foot-high daylit atrium connecting the three entities provides focus for interaction and collaboration among the scientists. Terraces at multiple levels in the atrium provide informal seating and meeting places, while a café and the atrium floor support conferences and social events.
  • The building is clad in Portuguese limestone and several kinds of glass to express each institution’s identity while unifying the whole complex.
  • A unique circulation system provides secure separation of public and animal-related movements, both vertically and horizontally.
Show more ↓Show less ↑

“ Lucky us, to get to work in this open, bright space so full of potential, of energy and of fun. The wonderfully fluid connected space of my lab promotes a synergistic team spirit that makes our research flourish. And our department, once a set of semi-separate enclaves, is now a cohesive and connected whole. Indeed, I think is the best department in the world to work on the brain and cognitive sciences, in no small part because of our fabulous new home.”

— Nancy Kanwisher, Investigator, McGovern Institute & Ellen Swallow Richards, Professor of Neurosciences

MIT Massachusetts Institute of Technology Brain and Cognitive Sciences Complex Goody Clancy Architecture Science and TechnologyProgram

  • Wet and dry teaching and research labs
  • Dedicated labs for 46 principal investigators
  • Specialized imaging facility to house three fMRI magnets
  • Vivarium
  • Offices
  • Auditorium
  • Seminar rooms
  • Café
  • 100 bicycle parking spaces

Size

412,000 GSF NEW

Collaborating Firm

Charles Correa Associates

LEED Silver Certified

Awards & Publications

  • Design Award, AIA New England
  • Best Dimensional Stone, International Masonry Institute
  • Golden Trowel Award, New England
  • AON Build America Award, Associated General Contractors of America
  • “Charles Correa Associates Teams with Goody Clancy to Design a Neuroscience Research Center that Encourages Collaboration,” Architectural Record [PDF]

Photographers

© Anton Grassl/ESTO
© Peter Vanderwarker
© Andy Ryan

Goody Clancy Architecture News

  • Goody Clancy Announces the Promotion of Three New Principals
  • Lori Ferriss is Recognized with the 2022 AIA Young Architects Award
  • AIAU Picks Up Embodied Carbon 101 Series
  • Read more →

On the Boards

  • Engineering Building Renovation and Addition
  • Integrated Science Center 4
  • College of Business
  • Read more →

Sustainability & Resilience

At Goody Clancy, our environmental philosophy is founded upon macro-resiliency in planning for neighborhoods and communities and the sustainable design of new and renewed buildings, systems, and the user environment.

Read more →

  • ©2023 Goody Clancy. All rights reserved.
    • /
    • Privacy Policy
    • /
    • Site Map
  • 420 Boylston Street Boston, MA 02116-3866
  • /
  • P. 617.262.2760
  • /
  • F. 617.262.9512
  • Design and development by RainCastle Communications