Simmons Hall Essay

Words: 914
Pages: 4

Simmons Hall was designed by Steven Holl Architects, an architecture firm based in New York, United States of America and Beijing, China. Known for specializing in “seamlessly integrating new projects into contexts with particular cultural and historic importance” , the building was a part of a larger master plan of an expansion of the campus of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, MIT, which was also designed by Steven Holl’s firm. The master plan included educational and residential buildings; however, Simmons Hall is the only building that was constructed from Holl’s plan. The designers were asked to “improve social and aesthetic qualities of the urban landscape and to do so by promoting sustainable solutions for the future.” Holl designed the building to mimic a sponge with pores and openings. He wanted a design that would allow the penetration of light and air to enter the heart of the building. Figure 1 shows the sponge like atriums that open to two or more floors. These atriums are what allow light and air to enter the building. The …show more content…
They did, however, find that a cross ventilation system brought the conditions in the rooms to an acceptable climate. The cross ventilation system was scrapped however due to strict fire codes in effect for student housing. Arup and MIT didn’t discard the idea all together, and in fact designated 4 rooms to simulate and show off their cross ventilation system’s potential. MIT’s Building Engineering Department monitors and documents these rooms’ climate to show the added benefits of cross ventilation in hopes to lead towards a code acceptable strategy for cross ventilation in