Architecture

MIT was named the top university in the world for the sixth consecutive year in the QS World University Rankings, reports Kyle Scott Clauss for Boston Magazine. 

U.S. News & World Report’s Visi Tilak spotlights NuVu Studios, a school started by MIT graduates to create more hands-on learning experiences for middle and high school students. MIT alumna and NuVu co-founder Saba Ghole explains that students use “curiosity and creativity to explore new ideas, and make their concepts come to life.”

CNN reporter Kaya Yurieff writes that MIT researchers have developed a robotic system that can 3-D print a building. Yurieff explains that the researchers, “want to deploy their system in remote regions, such as in the developing world or in disaster relief areas, for example after a major earthquake, to provide shelter quickly.”

MIT researchers have developed a robotic system that can 3-D print the basic structure of a building, writes Amina Khan for the Los Angeles Times. Khan explains that 3-D printing buildings, “has a number of advantages, many of which allow the robot to design and build more in the way that living systems in nature do.”

MIT researchers have developed a robotic 3-D printer that can construct a building, reports TechCrunch’s Brian Heater. “Our future vision for this project is to have self-sufficient robotic systems,” explains alumnus Steven Keating. “Just like a tree gathers its own energy, our platform is being developed toward the design goal of being able to gather its own energy.”

MIT researchers have developed a new robotic system that can 3-D print the basic structure of a building, writes Michelle Starr for CBS News. Starr explains that the system is “free moving, can be customized to print on any suitable surface and is intended to be self-sufficient.” 

Don Reisinger writes for Fortune that MIT researchers have developed a robot that can 3-D print a free-standing structure in 14 hours. The researchers hope the robot, which consists of two robotic arms attached to a vehicle, can be used to construct buildings in “disparate parts of the world or even on other planets,” explains Reisinger.

MIT researchers have developed a robot that can 3-D print the basic structure of buildings, writes Matthew Hutson for Science. The autonomous robot sprays an expanding foam into the desired shape “to build up a hollow wall that serves as insulation and can later be filled with concrete and covered in plaster,” explains Hutson.

CBC News reporter Matthew Braga writes that MIT researchers have designed a system that can 3-D print the basic structure of buildings. The researchers believe the system could one day be used to “build structures in extreme or inhospitable environments — say, the aftermath of an earthquake, or even on another planet.”

In this interview with Domus, Prof. Carlo Ratti discusses architecture and the digital revolution. Speaking about innovations that will influence the future, Ratti explains that “thanks to digital technology, we can finally build an interior that is not only able to feel, but also to respond, adapting itself in real time to our needs.”

The March 2017 issue of Italian design magazine Domus includes a special section that explores the fringes of architectural innovation in four aspects: design, materials, production, and interaction. Curated by Prof. Carlo Ratti, director of the MIT Senseable City Lab, the section’s articles feature an array of MIT architects, designers, and innovators.

MIT students participating in the Masters of Architecture Options Studio have developed a prototype portable shelter that self-assembles in mid-air, reports Alexandra Simon-Lewis for Wired. Graduate student MyDung Nguyen explains that the goal of the project was to "defy the constraints" that can often impede architectural projects, particularly in areas where space and time are limited.

MIT’s School of Architecture + Planning has been named the world’s top architecture school by QS University Rankings for the third year in a row, reports Madeline Billis of Boston Magazine. MIT received a total of 98 points when judged on categories including academic and employer reputations and research citations from the previous year.

In an article for The New York Times Magazine about design challenges, Jon Gertner highlights Prof. Skylar Tibbits’ idea to reimagine cell towers. By making cell towers responsive to external stimuli, Tibbits believes they can gain in flexibility and functionality, and will have “personality and an aesthetic of movement.”

Melik Kaylan writes for The Wall Street Journal about “Syria: A Living History,” an exhibit curated by Prof. Nasser Rabbat. Kaylan writes that the exhibit is “a poignant, cathartic show. The visitor can’t help feeling awe and veneration for the immortal works of art mixed with a bittersweet sense of what humans are capable of—at their best and worst.”