Babson College
Weissman Foundry
Project
Weissman Foundry
Client
Babson College
Location
Wellesley, MA
Completion
2018
Size
10,000 GSF
Category
Campus Innovations
The Babson Weissman Foundry is a 24/7 experimentation space where students from Babson College, Olin College of Engineering, and Wellesley College collaborate on mutual projects and ventures, with a goal to speed the cycle from ideation to market. This facility includes a large prototyping/makerspace with connections to the outdoors, a flexible classroom space, a visualization lab, specialized workshops, and a kitchen as social hub.
One of the College’s most innovative and forward-looking endeavors. A project that will have a profound impact for our students.
Kerry Healey, Former President, Babson College
The building design supports a pedagogical shift in the teaching studio from “lecturing” to “making”. Key to this is the idea that the building is not simply a “maker-space”, but an incubator space that brings together creative thinkers from multiple disciplines (business, engineering, and art) under one roof. Garage doors and operable walls open studios to one other, facilitating connections between ideation, practical learning, and making. Likewise, the transparency of the façade creates a beacon broadly inviting partnership among the three colleges.
BUILDING IN USE
A cooking class takes place in the Foundry's kitchen
A student fashion show takes place between the indoor makerspace and the outdoor porch of the Foundry
A students works on a shoe design in the makerspace
Students works together in the evening on an assignment
A group of young women meet over lunch to participate in a project planning session
A career fair takes place in the makerspace
Awards + Recognition
2019 BSA Education Facilities Design Award Citation
2019 CMAA New England Project Achievement Award
2019 Engineering News Record New England Higher Education/Research Project Merit Award
Project Consultants
Structural Engineer | LeMessurier Consultants, Inc.
Mechanical / Electrical Engineer | Vanderweil Engineers
Civil Engineer | Nitsch Engineering
Acoustical Engineer | Acentech
Photographer | Bruce Martin