Designing adaptability into MIT
MIT Building 20, Frank Gehry, and knocking walls through
Ed. This piece was originally published at cityofsound.com on June 22nd 2004.In its latest issue, Icon swoons over the new Stata building at MIT, by Frank Gehry, in common with Wired magazine dubbing it the “geek palace”. Given the pictures, it’s not difficult to see why. The new building certainly looks extraordinary, collapsing in on itself in folds and twists which defy the eye.
It may be worth pausing to reflect on the buildings it replaces, Building 20 and Tech Square, which I’ll argue were perhaps more usefully in tune with the geekery that Wired covets, and to consider whether Stata will really be the improvement that community really needs.
Caveat: before going further, please note that at time of writing, I haven’t visited the building yet. As I’m attending DIS 2004 in August, I hope to visit then, but at this point, I’m reviewing these media accounts rather than the building. For what it’s worth, the only Gehry building I’ve witnessed first hand at time of writing is his Guggenheim Bilbao, which fits very well into its local environment, both formally and functionally.
Ed. I did manage to visit in 2004. I wrote my reflections here.
