Hi, this is Wayne again with a topic “The difference a year makes”.
[, MUSIC PLAYING ] SARAH GALLOP, While the COVID-19 pandemic has prevented many of us from physically being at MIT. There has been a lot of activity on the campus., Not only in labs classrooms and student meeting spaces, all in a safe way, of course, but also on our construction, sites., [, MUSIC PLAYING ]. While we’ve been away the undergraduate residence hall on Vassar Street and the graduate residence hall in Kendall Square have been completed.. In addition, the office building that will house the MIT Museum next to the new Kendall Gateway is complete and the lab building connected to the Kendall Clock Tower building has taken shape., [, MUSIC PLAYING ] DAVID FRIEDRICH. It’S hard to imagine an MIT that actually stops and we got, I think, as close to that as you can imagine, but that couldn’t last very long., We very quickly had to turn the corner and begin thinking about.
How do we continue to move forward? How do we respond to this incredible challenge. And when I think about the world that we’re in as it relates to the residential experience and projects in housing, in particular, that 2020 was a huge year for us.? New Vassar is the newest addition to the undergraduate residential community.. It will open this spring for the first time to undergraduates as residents of the building and we’re really excited to see that community come to life. [ MUSIC PLAYING ].
I’Ve spent a lot of time working with students on various stages of the planning and design process and they’ve done a terrific job. Thinking about the values that will guide the community. [ MUSIC PLAYING ] There’s a strong focus on well-being. Well-being is probably our highest priority and it needs to permeate everything that we do from the programs that we offer to the spaces that we are responsible for maintaining..
[, MUSIC PLAYING ] MIT is a big place and what we often hear from our students is the anchor that the residential experience offers of finding that connection, that group of people that become lifelong friends, oftentimes. [, MUSIC PLAYING ] On the graduate side. We know that students relocate to MIT to pursue their degree. They’re, looking for a place to live for themselves, sometimes for themselves and their families and they’re seeking community and connection as well., [, MUSIC PLAYING ] And so we’ll be offering more housing in close relationship to The campus helps us offer things that we know our students are looking for., JESSIE, SCHLOSSER SMITH, MIT’s campus, of course, has so many wonderful outdoor, open, spaces..
Of course, you think of Killian Court as this incredibly iconic special place. One of the spaces that I’m thinking about a lot is the Kendall open, space.. It’S located just adjacent to the MIT medical building and very close to the MIT Kendall T stop.. So what used to be parking? Lots is now going to be this beautiful mixed use: space.
[, MUSIC PLAYING ]. So when people come back to campus, who haven’t been there for a year or so they’re going to see this whole area, transformed. [, MUSIC PLAYING ]? Sarah GALLOP, We want to create a place, that’s not just for some people, but is for all people.. I have great confidence in MIT and in Kendall Square with regard to the future..
We don’t know exactly what it will look like post COVID, but we will be there. We’ll, be there safely, we’ll be there collaboratively and we’ll be there in a way where we can continue to advance science and research all together in this very critical innovation, ecosystem. [, Music PLAYING ] .