Building Technology

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    Low-Cost, Low-Carbon Structural Components for Housing in India, Digital Structures Group.

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    Introduction to Structural Design- taught by John Ochsendorf.

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    Structural lattice additive manufacturing, Digital Structures Group.

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    Mapdwell Solar System- Sustainable Design Lab.

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    Guastavino Vault Replica- John Ochsendorf, Suk Lee, Nicky Soane, Simon A. Okaine.

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    Frozen Forces IAP: Lightweight Structural Ice Shells- led by Caitlin Mueller.

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    Courtyard Vault, built by Jonathan Dessi-Olive for workshop led by Mark West and John Ochsendorf.

Overview

The Building Technology (BT) Program at MIT is a group of students, faculty, and staff working on design concepts and technologies to create buildings that contribute to a more humane and sustainably-built environment. Our work ranges from fundamental discovery to full scale application. Students are challenged to address topics of clear and important relevance to the future of the built environment through creative and analytically rigorous approaches.

Students entering into the program are able to engage with active and ongoing research projects while pursuing their own intellectual and career agendas. Areas of study are highly interdisciplinary and address topics at diverse scales, from individual building components to broader urban energy and material flows. Each student works on research directly with a Building Technolgy faculty member. Research frequently involves collaborations with other departments in the sciences, social sciences, and humanities. The Building Technology department also engages with industry and public agencies to bring cutting-edge research into practice through pilot projects and policy. 

Areas of Research

Sustainable Design Strategies

  • Low-energy and passive building energy strategies  
  • Embodied carbon
  • Material reuse, circularity
  • Human comfort analysis
  • Human health and wellbeing
  • Policy development for building technologies 

Advanced Materials and Construction Systems

  • Innovative materials and assemblies
  • Emerging and nontraditional building materials
  • Integrated architectural design strategies
  • Structural design and optimization
  • Advanced manufacturing and digital fabrication for construction 

Computational Design and Simulation

  • Performance driven computational design approaches
  • Building and urban energy modeling and simulation
  • Multi-physics modeling and optimization
  • Innovative analysis and modeling of historic structures 

Urban and Environmental Systems Analysis

  • Urban environmental sensing, urban heat island effect, and urban metabolism
  • Resource accounting through material flow analysis and life cycle assessment 

Click here to view our Google Scholar Page.

Click here to view our Theses/Dissertations by Advisor.

Faculty Advising

Based on area of interest, each of our students is matched with a Building Technology faculty advisor upon admission. The advisor provides guidance on the initial plan of study, including the selection of major and minor fields, and on each term's choice of subjects. The advisor supports the student's progress and assists the student in the selection of a dissertation committee.

Each admitted applicant begins research under the supervision of a faculty member while also starting coursework. Many graduate research projects will be a portion of a sponsored research initiative. Students may be co-advised by faculty from within and outside the Building Technology group.  Many BT faculty members have joint appointments in departments including Civil and Environmental Engineering, the Schwartzman College of Computing, and Architecture. 

Graduate Programs

Graduate programs in Building Technology offer students the opportunity to explore critical topics for the future of the built environment and resources through close collaboration with interdepartmental research teams. 

Applicants of diverse educational backgrounds and interests are considered. Students will be accommodated in the Building Technology student lab area and will have the opportunity to work with and share their interests with BT students in other degree programs. They may also be advised and participate in BT research groups while pursuing degrees in other departments, including Civil and Environmental Engineering, Urban Studies and Planning, the Schwartzman College of Computing, and more.  

Students in all degree programs attend the Building Technology Seminar in their first semester. The course gives a broad overview of research directions in Building Technology through readings, discussions, design and analysis projects, and student presentations. The course teaches fundamental research methodology and supports the development of students' individual research directions. 

See Graduate Programs for specific degree requirements.

Graduate Degree Programs

PhD

PhD in Building Technology

The doctoral program drives in-depth research across Building Technology's diverse areas of study. The program is open to qualified students with a suitable background in technology and a degree in engineering, science, or architecture. Students construct an individualized course of study in close collaboration with faculty and in the context of ongoing research directions. Coursework includes subjects in engineering disciplines along with subjects that deal with the application of these topics to buildings.  The goal of the program is to train students to be innovators and leaders in the built environment, through future positions in universities, research laboratories, or cutting-edge practice. 

PhD Residency Requirements:

  • Residency at MIT: Minimum of 2 years, but more typically 3-5 years
  • Coursework includes 4.481 Building Technology Seminar and subjects relevant to the student's thesis research topic

Candidates are expected to be registered at MIT until the PhD dissertation is completed. Only under special circumstances will students be allowed to carry out any of their research while not in residence at MIT. 

SMBT

Master of Science in Building Technology

The Master of Science in Building Technology (SMBT) is a research-oriented program designed for graduate students interested in the development and application of advanced technology in buildings. The program accepts students with undergraduate degrees in a variety of engineering disciplines, in the physical sciences, or in architecture, with a suitable background in technology. All share both a keen interest in buildings and a thorough education in mathematics, physics, and other technical subjects.

Students will be incorporated into active and ongoing research projects while pursuing their own intellectual and career agendas. Students complete coursework in basic engineering disciplines as well as in other diverse subjects with applications in the built environment. Each student admitted to the program will take part in a research project to fulfill the SMBT thesis requirement, the scope of which is developed in close collaboration with faculty.

SMBT Structure and Requirements:  

  • 2 year residency
  • Coursework includes 4.481 Building Technology Seminar and subjects relevant to the student's thesis research topic
  • Thesis based on research project advised by one or more Building Technology faculty member
  • Accepts students with technical backgrounds

SMArchS BT

The Master of Science in Architecture Studies (SMArchS) is a two-year program of advanced study founded on research and inquiry in architecture as a discipline and as a practice. The program is intended both for students who already have a professional degree in architecture and those interested in advanced non-professional graduate study.

SMArchS in Building Technology

The Master of Science in Architecture Studies (SMArchS) is a two-year program of advanced study founded on research and inquiry in architecture as a discipline and as a practice. The structured program is intended both for students who already have a professional degree in architecture and those interested in advanced non-professional graduate study.

SMArchS in Building Technology is a program in which students work alongside students from other departments, including Civil and Environmental Engineering, Mechanical Engineering, Material Science and Engineering, Urban Studies and Planning and others. Students entering into SMArchS in Building Technology will be incorporated into active and ongoing research projects.  

SMArchS Structure and Requirements:  

  • 2 year residency
  • Coursework is a structured, interdisciplinary program including 4.481 Building Technology Seminar and courses in Architecture, Civil and Environmental Engineering, Mechanical Engineering, Material Science and Engineering, Urban Studies and Planning, and more
  • Thesis based on research project advised by one or more Building Technology faculty member
  • Accepts students with technical or architecture backgrounds 

Building Technology Open House 2024