When the Franklin W. Olin College of Engineering inaugurated their new president in 2021, the College approached MTA to design a new residence for the president on Olin’s campus. This new space would serve as a space for the president to gather with faculty, students, and alumni to cultivate a sense of community on their campus.

The College identified an eighteenth-century colonial-style house, which was used by the College as offices for several years, to be converted into this new residence. MTA worked closely with various stakeholders on campus to identify and realize their specific project goals: provide indoor and outdoor spaces for community gathering / programming, reuse and refurbish as much of the existing building as possible to support sustainable building strategies and adaptive reuse, and to prioritize accessibility and universal design at the forefront of all decision-making.

The project materialized into a surgical renovation of the existing house and the construction of a new contemporary addition, contrasting the formalism of the existing architecture and serving as a new community gathering space. This addition integrates an accessible covered entry ramp and stepped patios that are covered under large overhangs. A series of trellises and clerestory windows modulate sunlight in the gathering space and on the patios, connecting the spaces and the surrounding landscape.