Anyone who spent a lot of time out of town this summer will notice some changes around campus.
Construction has begun in and around Building 6 as a major expansion and renovation of the Main Group gets under way. The project, dubbed PDSI for its major components -- physics, DMSE (Department of Materials Science and Engineering), spectroscopy and infrastructure -- calls for the construction of a new "infill" building in the Building 6 courtyard, so access to Building 6 is now closed.
The north end of Building 6 is a construction site on all floors, so only those MIT community members who have authorization from an MIT Facilities PDSI Project Manager are allowed to enter. However, Building 8 will remain open, allowing through access on the Infinite Corridor.
Signs have been erected in the hallways to help people navigate their way around the construction. For more information on PDSI, visit web.mit.edu/facilities/construction/pdsi/index.html.
The Eastman Courtyard just outside Building 8 has been temporarily transformed to aid in construction, providing a space for the crane that will be used to erect steel on the new PDSI building. To protect the ground, contractors laid a carpet-like fabric over the grass, which they then covered with stones and sand before putting down the asphalt. This will allow the pavement to be easily removed and the grass replaced.
Other recent projects include the renovation of the former Building 4 Cafe, now Cafe 4, and a change to the restroom at the intersection of Buildings 8 and 6, which was formerly for men and is now for women.
The reconstruction of Massachusetts Avenue is on schedule and work in the street near MIT should be finished in October. Weather permitting, Mass. Highway's contractor will replace the sidewalks on both sides of the avenue before winter.
The brain and cognitive sciences project is nearly complete and the occupants of the new complex will begin moving in this month. Official dedications are scheduled for later this fall.
A version of this article appeared in MIT Tech Talk on September 14, 2005 (download PDF).
