“I think it sends a very good message that this vanguard school of architecture, at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, is moving into a historic building and adapting it for the future."

Hashim Sarkis
Dean, School of Architecture and Planning

The Metropolitan Storage Warehouse (Met Warehouse) opened in August 2026 as the new home of MIT’s School of Architecture and Planning after a makeover turned the century-old storage facility into a light-infused center for teaching, research, and public engagement.

A hulking brick building and local landmark over 500 feet long and five stories high, the Met Warehouse—designed by the architecture studio Diller Scofidio + Renfro—now stands as a new campus hub and a remarkable feat of architecture, engineering, and “adaptive reuse.” Beyond work studios, offices, and classrooms, there is an auditorium, galleries, and common spaces where MIT scholars and students can learn and design together, and the public can engage in lectures, exhibitions, and other programming.

The Met Warehouse has long been a familiar presence to the MIT and Cambridge communities.

The project to convert the Met Warehouse into a modern hub for interdisciplinary design research and education at MIT spanned 2018 to 2026.

In the renovated Met Warehouse, old and new elements of the iconic structure form a symbiotic relationship.
Image: Diller Scofidio + Renfro.

The modern, light-filled lobby will welcome visitors and set the tone for the building.
Image: Diller Scofidio + Renfro.

The spacious auditorium connected to the main lobby will be available to the MIT community for convening and programming.
Image: Diller Scofidio + Renfro

The Building 3 mixer space features a double-height design space surrounded by classrooms and meeting rooms.
Image: Diller Scofidio + Renfro.

Open-floor design studios are contemporary and brightly lit.
Image: Diller Scofidio + Renfro.

New window openings will add natural light and a view to Vassar Street.
Image: Diller Scofidio + Renfro.

The MIT Morningside Academy for Design will have studios, collaborative classrooms, and exhibition areas in the new Met Warehouse.
Image: Diller Scofidio + Renfro.

The building will be home to the MIT Morningside Academy for Design, which was established through a $100M gift from the Morningside Foundation, the philanthropic arm of the T.H. Chan family. This founding gift from family members Gerald and Beryl Chan and Ronnie and Barbara Chan included support for the Met Warehouse transformation. Along with the Morningside Foundation, another key project donor was Sidara (formerly the Dar Group), a global collaborative of specialist design, engineering, and consulting firms, owned by Maha and Talal Shair; they have supported the creation of the building’s Sidara Auditorium and Sidara Gallery space.