"Renewing the Stratton Student Center has galvanized alumni and friends who understand the transformational nature of the improvements, most importantly to offer students healthier eateries, well-being programming, and a welcoming place to study and socialize."
Thousands of MIT community members and guests visit the Stratton Student Center (W20) daily to eat, to relax, to study, and to socialize. Since the Student Center opened in 1968, much about daily life has changed, and the building has gradually evolved to meet the needs of the modern student.
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.
The central staircase was reconfigured to create more space for student programming.
On the ground floor, there is now banquette seating and more lounge space for students, creating a welcoming, inviting area.
More natural light was brought into the building’s study and lounge spaces.
The Rafael Del Pino (1986) Wellbeing Lab opened in fall of 2023 on the third floor.
The Rafael Del Pino (1986) Wellbeing Lab offers quiet study nooks, group and individual activities, fitness classes, and community workshops.
- 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.
- 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.
- The Rafael Del Pino (1986) Wellbeing Lab serves as the anchor and heart of campus-wide well-being initiatives.
- The fourth floor, already a vibrant home for many student-led organizations, now features flexible, multipurpose space for dance and movement activities, student group meetings, and social gatherings.
The Division of Student Life 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.
