Settlement of Buildings on the MIT Campus

The settlement history of the original buildings on the MIT campus is outlined. These buildings, completed in 1915, were instrumented with settlement plugs on which elevation readings have been taken nine times during the nearly 50 yr since their construction. Resting on foundations that would not be used today (1964) in the light of modern soil mechanics, these buildings have undergone large total and differential settlements, and have experienced considerable cracking. Although the buildings are approximately the same weight, the settlements vary from a minimum of 1 in. to a maximum of 9 in.