2016 FEBRUARY SPECIAL ISSUE
STL LAB
Exploring innovation and social responsibility in architecture, entrepreneurship, urban planning, and real estate.
Program Framework Since Mr. Samuel Tak Lee’s generous donation a year ago, the STL Lab has made great strides towards its goal of creating a new generation of socially responsible entrepreneurs and academics in the fields of architecture, planning, and real estate. To achieve this objective, the STL Lab has launched over half a dozen initiatives and programs, all of which are centered on building, exchanging, and disseminating knowledge (see next page for a diagrammatic explanation).
Multidisciplinary Pragmatic
Sustainable, long-term development
We are building knowledge with faculty from different disciplines across MIT and our partners in China to devise context-appropriate policies, laws, and practices that advance socially conscious entrepreneurship in the land and real estate sectors. To ensure that the generated knowledge will suit the needs of our targeted audience, we are exchanging ideas with key stakeholders through international conferences, seminars, and studios. The STL Lab serves as an open platform that facilitates the increased dialogue among all parties involved to define socially responsible real estate entrepreneurship in accordance with varying contexts. The refined and context specific knowledge will then be disseminated to young people in China and around the world through MOOCs (Massive Open Online Courses), interactive case studies, and real estate games. Our mission is to make the knowledge of land and building development more accessible and exciting for future generations of entrepreneurs, practitioners, policymakers and scholars. The STL Lab will continue to work on establishing rapport with governments, social and educational institutions, and communities. In the coming months we will be hosting a China Talk Series, launching a real estate competition, refining an educational real estate game, concluding the first round of faculty research projects, sending MIT graduate students to China to work with local youth, and producing MOOCs as well as case studies. Having spent the past year laying the foundation for many of our initiatives, we are excited to see the fruits of our labor in the coming years.
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Building Knowledge
Exchanging Knowledge
Faculty Seed Fund
Conferences/Workshops
Research funds are awarded annually to support MIT faculty’s research projects that embody the Lab’s mission.
Through conferences and workshops, scholars and practitioners from around the world will be invited to share their knowledge and experiences in socially responsible real estate entrepreneurship.
Case Studies The STL Lab is creating multi-media case studies to serve as supplements for the MOOCs.
Graduate Fellowships
The STL Lab provides each year 12 graduate fellowships to recr the best young minds in the world to join the Lab’s mission.
STL OPEN
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The STL Lab is partnering with Tsinghua University in China to organize a real estate competition to encourage entrepreneurship in China’s real estate market.
China Talk Series A lecture series that focuses on socially responsible real estate entrepreneurship will be held throughout the spring semester at MIT.
ruit
Disseminating Knowledge MOOCs The STL Lab is creating MOOCs to disseminate innovative ideas to a global audience, particularly young people who live in the mid-western parts of China.
Real Estate Games Produced by the STL Lab and MIT’s Game Lab, these educational real estate games introduce the basic concepts of socially responsible real estate to young entrepreneurs.
STL Lab’s Mission to promote socially responsible real estate entrepreneurship globally, with a special focus on China
China Summer Camp MISTI-China and the STL Lab have established summer programs at Chinese universities and high schools, which engage MIT and local students in applying theoretical concepts to solve real business problems.
For more inforamtion on each program, please visit: https://stl.mit.edu
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“Just to share an anecdote, my first day on the job was also when MIT signed the agreement with Sam Tak Lee. So the oneyear anniversary of the STL Lab is also my one-year anniversary. It’s been wonderful to see the STL Lab take off very fast and deliver on many of the promises. I see the STL and me being like classmates...I see the STL Lab as very prominent in the School’s priorities and direction, particularly in urbanism and design. “
Interview with Dean Hashim Sarkis S
TL Lab: Can you elaborate a bit on the connection you see between the STL Lab and urbanism and design? Dean Sarkis: As MIT looks at societal problems, we find that cities constitute one of the most complex societal problems. The STL Lab is building capacity to research complex issues of urbanization processes and creating a platform that addresses that complexity by bringing together different layers of expertise. Very few platforms do this. The STL Lab is looking at a broader set of issues that come together around cities by combining real estate with social equity and environmental issues. The Lab’s contribution is going to be quite strong for pushing forward the agenda around urbanism. STL Lab: How do you see the STL lab’s mission fitting into the SA&P’s mission? 4
Dean Sarkis: All good real estate will have to be socially responsible; this has to be an integral value that we
do not separate from real estate. What the STL Lab is contributing is highlighting that real estate may not have been practiced in a socially responsible way, in some instances. Furthermore, the Lab is not only looking at conventional urban settings but also identifying other frontiers of development that are equally worthy of examination. It is a true lab—exploring unidentified areas that are emerging and still need articulation. It is doing what MIT does best, looking at things that are yet to be explored and mapping the future. STL Lab: Working across geographic boundaries, especially national boundaries that are many miles away from each other will likely present some opportunities and challenges. Do you have any advice for the STL Lab based on experience from your practice? Dean Sarkis: The most difficult parts in all of this are jet lag and time differences. In terms of the research material and content, as much as we want to think about real estate as culturally and context specific—and it
is—we also aspire to ask questions in a very comparative way. What the Chinese setting provides us is an immense resource in terms of a rich culture and a particularity that has been developed over thousands of years. As much as it is grounded in history and culture, it is also at this amazing transformative moment. Of the various cultures that have a global aspiration, China stands quite at the frontier. It is important that we understand what is happening in China because in a world of globalization, what happens in China is not over there, it’s here also. STL Lab: In addition to working across geographic boundaries, we also hope to work across disciplinary boundaries. How can the STL lab better navigate across disciplinary boundaries within SA&P and MIT? Dean Sarkis: The more people focus on unusual questions, the more inadvertent and effortless being interdisciplinary becomes. If we ask conventional questions, we ask them within certain parameters and the answers are usually clear. When we ask questions that have not yet been asked, answers cannot come from conventional sources alone.
front of architects. Increasingly real estate developers are also recognizing the importance of design in improving their work. Good design is good business— these words are growing in its prevalence, and I hope that this idea will be integrated into the thinking of the STL Lab. I think Sam Tak Lee is quite a visionary. Planting this seed at MIT, with an idea that it would be reaching out to China in a very broad and effective way, is quite smart. I’m only now beginning to catch up on the repercussions and ramifications of this kind of gesture. I do feel like it also fits within the larger MIT mission of bringing education to the masses—it’s not an elitist project at all. What is amazing about the Lab is that it is such an open and embracing lab—that is very MIT and it also comes from Sam Tak Lee.
MIT is opportunistic about how it asks its questions, and looks everywhere because it needs answers from everywhere. Students and faculty here don’t spend time trying to figure out from what discipline this tool comes, they just grab it and use it. STL Lab: As an architect, are there innovations in the architecture world, or even just within SA&P, which you believe can help further socially responsible real estate? Dean Sarkis: By focusing on alternative real estate markets, secondary cities, and the edge of rural-urban areas, the STL Lab is looking at emerging constituents/ groups that have very particular aspirations and unique settings. One of the most fertile grounds of invention for the architect is when constituents are not conventional— when they are looking for something different to help them articulate themselves. What kinds of buildings will have the capacity to adjust to this incredibly fast transformation, when buildings have traditionally been seen as permanent? These are amazing questions to put in
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STL 2015 TIMELINE • Generous gift from alumnus Samuel Tak Lee ’62, SM ’64 enables the STL Lab to begin its work • Dr. Yu-Hung Hong of MIT’s Department of Urban Studies and Planning is appointed as the Director of the STL Lab
Jan
• Pilot case studies are launched in Panama and Beijing
May Feb
• The STL Lab Advisory Board is established, and includes representatives from each of MIT’s schools • The STL Lab Steering Committee is formed • The first call for proposals for the Faculty Seed Fund grants are announced
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Jul
• Ms. Zhengzhen Tan is appointed as the Assistant Director of the STL Lab
• Building 9 is officially named the “Samuel Tak Lee Building” • Case study development begins during the first scouting trip to Panama • Dr. Hong and Ms.Tan meet with various universities, land development agencies, and MIT alumni in China
Aug
• The STL Lab welcomes the inaugural class of STL Graduate Fellows to DUSP and CRE at MIT • The first round of $1.5 million in Faculty Seed Fund grants are awarded to 13 MIT researchers and their teams • MIT’s Office of Digital Learning (ODL) and the STL Lab partner to produce case studies • Case study team travels to to Beijing to continue case study development
Oct
• Co-founders of Top Chain Real Estate visit the STL Lab • Hong Hai, the director of the documentary film Zundao, attends the STL Fellows Seminar for a screening and discussion about his work • The NDRC Delegation visits the STL Lab for a discussion on climate change in relation to socially responsible real estate development
Nov
Sep
• The “China Real Estate Innovation Conference: Thinking about Innovation in Real Estate” attracts over 150 attendees from around the world • The STL Lab organizes the first public test play session for the educational real estate game, co-developed with MIT’s Game Lab • Tongji University professors from the Urban Planning department visit the STL Lab for a lecture on Chinese real estate and development • The China Summer Camp program is launched
• The case study team visits Panama to shoot videos and conduct interviews • Dr. Hong and Ms.Tan visit China to cultivate partnerships for the STL Open Competition • The first internal annual report is produced, detailing various initiatives and activities of the Lab
Dec
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“
Working with Professor Hong, Zhengzhen and other Fellows has helped me learn a lot. Our bi-weekly discussion deepened my understanding of how to promote socially responsible real estate development in China…The Lab is like a big family for me in Boston. I am really looking forward to contributing more to the Lab in the remaining semesters of my MCP program! -Wangke Wu, MCP 2017 …To my huge delight, I feel the things that I am doing not only closely relate to my academic interests, but also are for a meaningful cause and can absolutely change at least some parts of the world for better. Moreover, I am grateful for the platform that the STL Lab has provided me to talk, work and play with a number of great minds… -Jintai Li, MCP 2017
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Being a STL Fellow is a great honor. Besides the generous assistantship, I want to emphasize the following points: (1) Initiatives: STL Fellows can propose a wide range of activities that benefit students’ research interests… (2) Open: the STL lab is open to everybody who believes in “socially responsible real estate entrepreneurship” …We aim at influencing a wide range of people no matter if you are from MIT or not... It really makes me happy to work in such a mission-driven lab. -Waishan Qiu, MCP 2017 …Besides the great support to our study and research, the Lab is also like a family to us. I Having been working for 5 years, really appreciate that Professor I felt passionate to return to the Hong, Zhengzhen and other STL campus, where MIT provided Fellows established a “STL Hub” me with a great opportunity to for us to get together every two work with and learn from those weeks to have dinner, discussion outstanding professionals and and chatting. I hope that we will researchers in the field of real have more and more Fellows to estate development….Among join the STL Lab and the family many activities, joining the STL will become bigger and bigger. Lab is a highlight in my academic -Viola Wang, MSRED 2017 life. I was proud to participate in the organization of the first CREIC and facilitate the discussion of The STL Lab has provided the corporate and entrepreneur’s foundation for me to explore social responsibility as a former how cities and businesses can Vanke staff and a current STL work together in urban China. Fellow. Being part of the Lab has helped -Wensi Zhai, MSRED 2016 me see how “socially responsible The honor of being selected as a STL Fellow has been an invaluable addition to my experience here at MIT…Before being a part of the STL Lab, I knew much less about other markets outside of the United States, and especially China. Through spirited discussions with other Fellows and a long list of guests who’ve joined us to share their experiences, I have learned more about the challenges and successes of development on an international scale… -Kevin Murphy, MSRED 2016
real estate” is understood differently from different perspectives around the world. I now appreciate how much work remains to be done in this world…I fully expect that we will help redefine what ‘real estate’ can mean to our generation. -David Wang, MCP 2017
Working with the STL Lab has been an invaluable part of my first semester at MIT. The Lab has not only been a source of intellectual exploration but also been an intimate community that I’ve come to grow attached to. To some, the phrase “socially responsible real estate entrepreneurship” may sound like an oxymoron but over the past couple of months, the STL staff and Fellows have been working hard to give this phrase meaning and significance. I look forward to learning more about the real estate industry and how innovation can transform the industry to serve as a vehicle for social change! -Karmen Cheung, MCP 2017
The STL Fellowship is a unique opportunity to be part of a cohort with a shared vision of a more balanced world. I think of my Fellowship as two very distinct experiences. The first one is an idea exchange, wherein, I met with other Fellows and discussed “socially responsible real estate entrepreneurship” and learnt about examples reflecting the underlying ideas. The second is an opportunity to work on an interesting project – development of on-campus student housing. I learnt the importance of this product type both from the perspective of students – the impact this makes to their learning experience – and also the investors around the world who see this as an attractive asset. -Saurabh Jalori, MSRED 2016
From the STL Fellows
…Each of the Lab members has a very diverse background and we learn a lot from each other. I particularly enjoy our bi-weekly meetings, where we have various types of activities and discussions on trends and innovations in socially responsible real estate development. I also enjoy working with professors to analyze ways to deliver real estate education to developing areas. -Dandi Li, MSRED 2016
Working for the Samuel Tak Lee Lab as a STL Fellow for the fall 2015 semester has really been a unique experience. I think the experience is even more amplified personally for me as a dual degree student in DUSP and CRE with an interest in the state of urban development in China. My specific task in organizing a real estate entrepreneurship contest really opened up my eyes to the Chinese youths’ perceptions toward the real estate industry and the concept of entrepreneurship in contemporary China. -Yifei Lu, MCP & MSRED 2016 Being a STL Fellow has afforded me the opportunity to view real estate through a global lens. Working to develop MIT’s Global Real Estate Forum has provided a platform upon which I have been able to learn about innovative real estate practices across borders and examine some of the world’s most exciting developments…in pursuing panelists for the Forum, I have been able to interact and network with a wide array of people I otherwise wouldn’t have naturally met. -Stacey Spurr, MSRED 2016
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Samuel Tak Lee MIT Real Estate Entrepreneurship Laboratory Massachusetts Institute of Technology 105 Massachusetts Avenue Samuel Tak Lee Building, Room 9-449 Cambridge, MA 02139 USA 617-715-2352 stllab@mit.edu
stl.mit.edu