The Metropolitan Storage Warehouse. (Courtesy Photo / MIT / Bryce Vickmark)

Cambridge’s iconic Metropolitan Storage Warehouse will be getting a new life as the home of the MIT School of Architecture and Planning (SA+P) and a campus-wide makerspace run by the university’s Project Manus makerspace initiative.

The university announced plans last week to renovate the Massachusetts Avenue structure, which was once considered for a new university dormitory.

The reenvisioned structure will create a hub for design research and education, allowing the school to expand its range of activities and offering benefits to the MIT community. The ground floor will be dedicated to the campus’s largest makerspace open to all of MIT, overseen by Project Manus, and an auditorium, galleries and convening spaces.

The proposed renovations would preserve the structure’s distinctive external features and create 200,000 square feet of state-of-the-art interior spaces including classrooms, studios, workshops, galleries, and an auditorium.

The architecture firm of Diller Scofidio + Renfro (DS+R) has been tapped to lead the redesign. Among DS+R’s many recognized projects are the High Line in New York City and the Institute of Contemporary Art in Boston.