by Michael J. Crosbie

There is a frenzy of building activity on the Massachusetts Institute of Technology campus in Cambridge. This haven for "techies" on the Charles River is now undergoing an ambitious billion-dollar construction program, springing from seeds planted two years ago.

The first building to be completed under this program is the Zesiger Sports and Fitness Center. Designed by Kevin Roche John Dinkeloo & Associates, with Sasaki Associates as executive architect, Zesiger occupies one of the most prominent locations on MIT's campus, facing the Kresge Auditorium by Eero Saarinen.

In 2000, a four-day workshop brought together such celebrated designers as Charles Correa, Frank Gehry, and Fumihiko Maki to help shape a vision of the future of MIT's 154-acre (62-hectare) campus. Today, the first of the new buildings envisioned has been completed, with more on the way. Projects by these architects plus Kevin Roche, Steven Holl, Moore Ruble Yudell, and others are either just opening, under construction, or on the boards.   >>>

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On the MIT campus is the new Zesiger Sports and Fitness Center, designed by Kevin Roche John Dinkeloo & Associates, with Sasaki Associates as executive architect. Photo: Andy Ryan Zesiger's south facade, like that of the Johnson Athletics Center immediately to the west, is a large volume floating above an open arcade. Photo: Andy Ryan   Click on thumbnail images to view full-size pictures.