By MIT Admissions and MIT Open Space Programming 

Recently, MIT Admissions and MIT Open Space Programming jointly launched a new lighting installation, “MIT Illuminations,” in partnership with SOSO, an MIT-alumni founded experiential design firm. The installation spans 120 linear feet, indirectly illuminating an acoustical fabric frieze within the new MIT Welcome Center, and by night transforming the center into a colorful, inviting beacon in Kendall Square, Cambridge, Massachusetts.

With an open glass facade and a large ground floor auditorium, the MIT Welcome Center — a gift of Tina Moghadam and Hamid Moghadam ’77, SM ’78 — is part of MIT's new gateway in Kendall Square and is envisioned as a new starting point for visitors to the campus. Inspired by the concept “only at MIT,” the Welcome Center's artwork, lighting, and interiors evoke MIT’s eclectic, creative, and hands-on culture.

“The lights, like the MIT community, are colorful, evolving, and full of life,” explains Chris Peterson SM '13, director of special projects at MIT Admissions and Student Financial Services and a lecturer in comparative media studies. "We wanted to highlight the human element of MIT with an installation that felt as vivid and organic as our community in fact is, and that could serve as an educational opportunity as well."