The central staircase was reconfigured to create more space for student programming.
PHOTO: SARAH BASTILLE PHOTOGRAPHY
Much about daily life has changed since then, and the building has gradually evolved to meet the needs of the modern student.
The most recent upgrades, including strategic improvements to the infrastructure and new, welcoming spaces for campus activities, were conceived after gathering significant input from student working groups. Generous donors made the improvements possible. “We are deeply grateful to our alumni and friends who supported the transformational improvements to the Stratton Student Center, which serves as an active hub for campus life and now offers healthy eateries, well-being and dance programming, and a place for all to socialize and study,” says Vice Chancellor for Student Life Suzy Nelson.
New form and function on the first and second floors
Nelson’s team set out to improve the experience of walking into the student center, viewing it as one of the key entry points to the Institute. The central staircase was reconfigured to create more space that can be used for programming on the ground floor level, and the new design opened up the Stratton Lounge on the second floor, making it brighter and more welcoming.
A key design principle of using natural light to promote well-being was top of mind, and the renovations brought light from outdoors further into the building. Most of all, the team worked with architectural firm Gensler to create spaces where students would want to spend time. “The minute we reopened W20, students were in there just using every square inch and they haven’t stopped,” says David Randall, dean of student life in the Division of Student Life (DSL).
On the ground floor, there is now banquette seating and more lounge space for students, creating a more welcoming, inviting area than the former storefront. The opening of the new Concord Market, which provides fresh groceries and prepared foods for students, was a recent and much anticipated addition that had been eagerly awaited by the MIT community.
New and improved student spaces
The DSL team is thrilled with the results achieved on the fourth floor, the only part of the Student Center that hadn’t changed since the building opened in the sixties. “The fourth floor hadn’t been touched, and it’s where all of the student organizations’ offices are,” explains Erin Farrell, senior associate dean of student engagement and campus activities. With enthusiastic support from alumni donors, she says, “We put in two beautiful new dance spaces with a multipurpose space in between them and a lounge.”
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For the Love of Ballroom
“These studios have become a hub of almost daily ballroom classes and countless practice hours for our team,” says graduate student Raluca Cobzaru, a member of the MIT Ballroom Dance Team. “Every week you will find couples meticulously practicing their floorcraft on the sprung wood floors. We look forward to many more classes, workshops, and impromptu mid-afternoon practice breaks in our beloved studios.”
Another recent improvement to the Student Center is the addition of the Rafael Del Pino (1986) Wellbeing Lab, which opened in fall of 2023 on the third floor. The sun-filled space offers quiet study nooks, group and individual activities, fitness classes, and community workshops, as well as meeting space for counseling and other supportive meetings.
Looking to the future
Farrell and her team are always thinking about the best use of space for students, brainstorming as they try to anticipate campus needs for the next 20 years of student life. The Student Center is by no means finished, but an ever-evolving project; for example, Lobdell Dining Hall and La Sala De Puerto Rico multipurpose room on the second floor have yet to be renovated. “We’re looking to bring them up to date so that the whole floor makes sense,” she says. “The technology piece is important, too, making sure that meeting and event spaces are plug-and-play tech ready.”
“From a programmatic perspective, we’re really just getting started,” she continues. “We have a number of different spaces under our purview, but we have 500 student organizations and 40 spaces.” It’s a constant puzzle to assign events to locations on any college campus, since space is always a precious resource.
Well-being is the common theme
Every upgrade and improvement to W20 has been done with the student experience in mind. “We know that student involvement contributes to a sense of connection and community, that sense of purpose in life,” says Randall. New elements like the Wellbeing Lab are part of Chancellor Melissa Nobles’s Whole Student Initiative, which stresses four well-being pillars for students to prioritize: mind, body, relationships, and purpose.
“The Student Center renovations have made it the hub of student activity,” says Janine Medrano ’26. “I have undoubtedly spent more time there after renovations than before, both using common spaces to work and taking advantage of the Wellbeing Lab as a place to de-stress by participating in and hosting events.”
Adds Farrell, “I’ve noticed in the evening, after students finish their classes, the Student Center is a very popular place to be. It’s really fun to see!”