77 Mass Ave.

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Breaking Ground
Simmons Hall learns to adapt
By Catherine Nichols

Since the walls of Simmons Hall are made of concrete, glass, and steel, it would seem that the one thing residents aren't supposed to do with the building is drill holes in it. But in April, students had a unique opportunity to modify this major work of modern architecture in a competition called Drill a Hole in Simmons Hall. Students from MIT and Harvard University were encouraged to submit designs for improvements to the building. The winners would win money and have their plans implemented.

The competition was the idea of Carlo Ratti, a current resident of Simmons Hall and a visiting scholar in architecture. The Simmons Hall housemasters--Ellen Essigmann, PhD '80, and John Essigmann, SM '72, PhD '76--asked Rotti to design improvements for the building. Ratti suggested that, instead, the community should propose changes. Steven Holl, who designed the building, approved the groundbreaking competition.

The entries reflected the different perspectives of the contestants, from the students who call Simmons Hall home to the more distant Harvard students, who know it as a textbook lesson in modern architecture. Their designs ranged from the humorous (Simmons should have its own cloud to transport students) to the practical (Simmons should have more furniture) to the ethereal (study spaces should be pierced with colored glass rods that would light up from within when the rooms were in use).

A panel of architecture experts and Simmons residents selected three finalists. Residents then voted online, ultimately selecting the design of mathematics major and Simmons resident Thom Covert '05, architecture major Stephen Form '05, and architecture grad student Coryn Kempster. Since the winning team suggested the transportation cloud, among other additions, its full vision will not be realized. At the moment, only its plans for an outdoor terrace seating area and a glowing electronic-communication system are under review for implementation.

Simmons Hall was built in part as a metaphor for the ingenuity and creativity of the MIT mind; the metaphor stands as the building adapts.