MIT’s extensive Brain and Cognitive Sciences Complex is an exemplar of collaborative design – and is designed to inspire further collaboration.

Developed by two architecture firms working together, the complex reflects the extraordinary vision of the lead designer, Charles Correa, and the exceptional design of laboratories and research spaces by Goody, Clancy and Associates. The largest neuroscience center in the world, this interdisciplinary research and teaching facility now integrates three pioneering institutions pursuing crucial discoveries: The Department of Brain and Cognitive Sciences, the McGovern Institute for Brain Research, and The Picower Institute for Learning and Memory.

A triumph of urban design and engineering, the LEED Silver-certified complex sits on top of an active freight rail corridor and is built around a soaring five-story atrium. Classrooms, offices, conference rooms, wet and dry laboratories, imaging centers, libraries, tearooms, an auditorium, and a five-story atrium coexist with—and contribute to—the life of the surrounding community. In addition, the new trees, lighting, paving, and bicycle lanes surrounding this complex have helped revitalize this formerly run-down section of Vassar Street.