The MIT Stephen A. Schwarzman College of Computing has recently inaugurated its new headquarters in Building 45, fostering a new hub of connectivity at MIT. The structure serves as a computing crossroads for the campus and aims to catalyze collaborations in computing, and houses research groups from multiple departments and labs.
Approximately 178,000 square feet in size, the eight-story structure seeks to fulfill the three-fold mission of the MIT Schwarzman College of Computing: to strengthen core computer science and AI; to embed combatting at the forefront of disciplines throughout MIT; and to advance the social, ethical, and policy dimensions of computing. The first two floors, which are opened for public engagement, have convening areas, a 60 seat classroom, 250 seat lecture hall, and numerous spaces for study and social interactions.
The building has started hosting academic activity with 13 classes for undergraduate and graduate students. The Schwarzman College of Computing aims not only to serve educational and research needs but also facilitates extensive community connections.
The building houses 50 computing research groups, corresponding to the college’s recruitment of 50 new faculty – 25 in core computing positions and 25 shared positions with departments at MIT. These groups consist of a mix of new and existing teams that focus on research areas like deep learning and generative AI, natural language processing, computer vision, robotics, reinforcement learning, game theoretic methods, and societal impacts of AI. The faculty are affiliated with various departments at MIT and labs like the Computer Science and Artificial Intelligence Laboratory and the Laboratory for Information and Decision Systems.
The building hosts programs and activities of MIT Quest for Intelligence, Center for Computational Science and Engineering, and MIT-IBM Watson AI Lab. The meeting rooms on the third floor are designed for college units to host weekly group meetings and other computing-related activities. There are also designated areas for the dean’s office and cross-cutting areas of the college.
Building 45 also offers a main event space and three conference rooms available for the MIT community at large. The top-floor event space boasts stunning views across Cambridge and Boston and has already become a popular destination on campus.
Environmentally friendly construction methods were a focus in this building’s design, which is expected to achieve LEED Platinum certification. The building uses glass shingles on the south-facing side to allow in natural light and reduce energy consumption, among other eco-friendly measures.
A ceremony is planned in spring to celebrate the building and acknowledge the contribution of Stephen A. Schwarzman, the chair, CEO, and co-founder of Blackstone, and the first donor to support the building, Sebastian Man. This will mark the official completion of the building and the culmination of hard work in bringing it into existence.
