MIT MAD
The MIT Morningside Academy for Design (MIT MAD) is an interdisciplinary hub that celebrates the transformative power of design at MIT and beyond. MAD exists to foster innovation, empower individuals, and reshape the way we learn.
Mission
MAD weaves in science, engineering, architecture and planning, the humanities, and business, to create an environment where design becomes a catalyst for positive change.
MAD TRANSFORMS LEARNING. We believe design can create transformative experiences for learners at MIT and beyond. Breaking away from traditional education, we foster creativity, critical thinking, making, and collaboration, exploring a range of dynamic approaches to prepare students for complex, real-world challenges.
MAD CATALYZES INNOVATION. Innovation thrives at the intersection of design and diverse fields. MAD interweaves design with other disciplines — engineering, biology, urban studies, arts, health, governance, architecture… — to cultivate interdisciplinarity, thus driving breakthrough solutions, unlocking novel perspectives, and generating meaningful impact.
MAD EMPOWERS SOCIETY. MAD inspires individuals to embrace making and design as catalysts for positive change. Our open and vibrant community of students, researchers, and designers collaborate on local and global challenges through projects, fellowships, and public initiatives. By fostering a sense of agency, we ignite the belief that every act can create a meaningful impact.
Leadership
John Ochsendorf, MIT MAD's founding director.
Class of 1942 professor; professor of architecture; professor of civil and environmental engineering; macvicar faculty fellow.
Maria Yang, MIT MAD's associate director.
MIT School of Engineering's associate dean; Gail E. Kendall professor of mechanical engineering.
MIT MAD is housed in the School of Architecture and Planning, with equal bearing in the School of Engineering. It connects students, faculty, and researchers throughout MIT’s five schools and the Schwarzman College of Computing.
Metropolitan Warehouse
MIT is renovating the Metropolitan Warehouse to create a vibrant interdisciplinary hub for design and education and to house the School of Architecture and Planning, a new makerspace for Project Manus, and MIT MAD.
This versatile space will hold research labs, design studios, lecture halls, collaborative classrooms, makerspaces, exhibition areas, and spaces to engage with the community and industry.
To understand how design can solve critical problems, we needed a place where we can incubate innovations for the built environment. The Metropolitan Storage Warehouse is on track to become a hub for design at MIT and in the world.
— Hashim Sarkis, dean of the School of Architecture and Planning
Support the Met Warehouse Renovation
Your philanthropic support will help us achieve the promise of this historic renovation project for the MIT community.
Gifts of all levels are deeply appreciated with naming opportunities starting at $100,000.
To learn more about supporting the Met Warehouse renovation, contact Liz Vena at [email protected] or 617.620.1810.
Founding Gift
The Morningside Academy for Design was founded in March 2022 with a $100 million gift from the Morningside Foundation, the philanthropic arm of the T.H. Chan family.