Bldg. 7A
You are here
Rotch Library of Art, Architecture, and Planning (Bldg. 7A)
1991 renovation and additions, Schwartz/Silver Architects. 77 Massachusetts Ave.
-
(Dr. Meral Ekincioglu) -
(Dr. Meral Ekincioglu) -
(Dr. Meral Ekincioglu) -
(Dr. Meral Ekincioglu)
Users of this library (located within the Rogers Building [MT1]), a leading resource for the local architectural and planning community, as well as for the students and faculty of MIT, may be quite unaware of the enormous problems entailed in building an addition at the site—eighteen feet above a roadway for trucks. Restrictions governing height and square footage caused six floors to be suspended from massive roof girders in order to accommodate the weight of the books.
The building's concrete frame structure has a glass facade that reveals the books, its principal contents. Connecting the addition to the extant library allowed the architects to create a dramatic skylit walkway, thereby enhancing the natural illumination of the library while maintaining the integrity of the two structures, which combined, form one of the largest architectural libraries in the United States.
Writing Credits
×
Data
-
Location: Cambridge, MassachusettsRegional Overviews:Architect:Types:Styles:no metadata availableMaterials:
What's Nearby
Citation
Keith N. Morgan, "Rotch Library of Art, Architecture, and Planning (Bldg. 7A)", [Cambridge, Massachusetts], SAH Archipedia, eds. Gabrielle Esperdy and Karen Kingsley, Charlottesville: UVaP, 2012—, http://sah-archipedia.org/buildings/MA-01-MT2.
Print Source
Buildings of Massachusetts: Metropolitan Boston, Keith N. Morgan, with Richard M. Candee, Naomi Miller, Roger G. Reed, and contributors. Charlottesville: University of Virginia Press, 2009, 303-303.
If SAH Archipedia has been useful to you, please consider supporting it.
SAH Archipedia tells the story of the United States through its buildings, landscapes, and cities. This freely available resource empowers the public with authoritative knowledge that deepens their understanding and appreciation of the built environment. But the Society of Architectural Historians, which created SAH Archipedia with University of Virginia Press, needs your support to maintain the high-caliber research, writing, photography, cartography, editing, design, and programming that make SAH Archipedia a trusted online resource available to all who value the history of place, heritage tourism, and learning.