Announcing the S. James Goldstein ’46, SM ’48, B. Arch. ’49 and Family Fund

A new fund has been established by the family of S. James Goldstein ’46, SM ’48, B. Arch. ’49 to support teaching and research related to building design, construction, and environmental sustainability. The significant contribution will enable the creation of a multi-year climate studio that will strengthen efforts to develop new models of teaching, learning, research, and impact, with the urgency needed to address the growing climate crisis.

“We are delighted,” says department head Nicholas de Monchaux. “This exciting gift aligns with our department’s abiding commitment to prioritize research to address and mitigate the effects of the climate crisis. The family strategically structured their contribution in a way which will ensure and amplify impact at the outset, balanced with an ongoing investment in progress thereafter”. 

The creation of the fund reflects the Goldstein family’s deep connections to MIT. Jim Goldstein (1926–2008) was a proud alumnus whose decades-long commitment to the Institute included serving on the MIT Corporation (1979–1984) and participating on eight committees, including the Council for the Arts and the Visiting Committees of the MIT Libraries and of the Department of Architecture. He also played an active role for many years in reunion organization and fundraising on behalf of the Class of 1946. For his service to the Institute, he was awarded the Alumni Association’s Bronze Beaver.

A veteran of World War II, Jim was recalled to active duty with the Navy during the Korean War and led master planning activities for the Navy’s research and development establishment in the Washington, D.C., area. He supervised the construction of the Navy’s first computer facility and a major transonic wind tunnel.

Upon his release from active duty, Jim started his own firm—now called The Goldstein Partnership—led in its 73rd year by his son, Eliot. His distinguished architectural career spanned nearly six decades and included virtually every building type. He was a leader in the most complex high-technology research and development facilities, with clients in the physical, chemical, and biological sciences, and the telecommunications, defense, and pharmaceutical industries.

From his earliest projects, he was committed to climate-responsive design; his training as a mechanical engineer enabled him to push the design of his projects’ systems to higher-than- typical performance. From the beginning of his practice, he used his engineering skills to minimize energy consumption in his buildings. For example, in the Plainview/Old Bethpage (Long Island) Public Library (1960), he innovated with the deployment of geothermal energy for heating and cooling. 

In 1985, Jim was elected to the College of Fellows of the American Institute of Architects, in recognition of his contributions to the profession in both building design and the science of construction. He was also an active member of the AIA’s Committee on Design.

Jim and his wife, Rosanne (Hon. MITAA), had three sons, all of whom graduated from MIT, as did a grandson, continuing the family’s connections to the Institute.

“With this background of our father’s long-held values and support for MIT, our family is pleased to establish this Fund,” said son, Roger N. Goldstein 1974 AR, M. Arch. ‘76, who along with his brother Eliot Goldstein 1977 AR, M. Arch. ‘80, facilitated this gift with their mother, Rosanne. “It will support the Department of Architecture’s commitment to teaching and research that will train the next generation of architects to creatively address the climate crisis through innovative, thoughtful design of all types, and through reducing the environmental footprint of buildings and the processes of building and operating them.”