Responsible for MIT's system-of-record space and building inventory, FIS is a team of technical professionals dedicated to keeping the campus well documented. Through its management of space and geographic data, oversight of the digital facilities archive collection, and visualization of the campus and its buildings, the team plays a critical role in supporting campus planning initiatives and helping the Institute run efficiently.
Space Accounting & Building Information
FIS maintains an inventory of over 200 buildings and 14 million square feet of space, encompassing classrooms, labs, residential halls, and administrative offices. Responsible for MIT’s system-of-record space and building inventory, we provide information on building names, numbers, and addresses and detailed room data, including square footage, room use and organizational assignment. The team is responsible for systematically numbering all buildings and rooms and for maintaining updated floorplans of all MIT buildings, ensuring consistent and accurate information for the MIT community.
Campus Mapping & Geographic Information Systems
Our team is responsible for creating and updating all official maps of the MIT campus. We map buildings, courtyards, and landscapes as well as locations of various assets across campus, such as utilities, trees, and bluephones. We maintain hundreds of maps in both hardcopy (.pdf) and web formats, ensuring that the most accurate and up-to-date information is available to the MIT community. We utilize both 2D and 3D mapping to provide a comprehensive view of the campus. Our mapping and location data is used in widely accessed applications such as whereis.mit.edu and atlas.mit.edu. Our team also performs spatial analysis to support decision-making processes on campus. Whether it’s for planning, construction, or day-to-day operations, our mapping services play a crucial role in keeping MIT informed and well-prepared.
Facility Archive Collection
Our digital archive collection boasts over 140,000 physical and digital documents relating to MIT’s built environment. The archives also house a range of historical treasures, including drawings by William Welles Bosworth, the architect of MIT’s early neoclassical Main Group buildings. This collection preserves the history and evolution of the MIT campus, providing valuable insights and references for future developments.
Building Modeling & 3D Visualization
At FIS, we facilitate the Building Information Modeling (BIM) process by providing support and resources to project teams, as they relate to the building lifecycle.
As the custodians of MIT’s Digital Twin, we maintain and provide detailed building data using web-based models, Revit and SketchUp. These digital representations offer an interactive way to visualize and manage campus buildings as well as connect with the City of Cambridge. In creating the Digital Twin, we collaborate extensively with the City. To learn more about this please see the presentation FIS and the City of Cambridge made at the 2023 Esri User Conference.