MIT Stata Center: Joke or Genius? By Chris Seymour Architecture is a pure expression of an individuals talent.

Unfortunately, somewhere along the way, many stopped pushing the boundaries and stuck to what was familiar. The monotony of architecture on a typical city street can grow tiresome. Luckily, architects like Frank Gehry continue to push the envelope for what is acceptable architecture. The Ray and Maria Stata Center, built in 2004 on MITs campus is different, and it owns it. The logic defying angles, shiny aluminum and tilting walls make the Computer and Artificial Intelligence Studies building look like it is ready to fall to the ground. Though it has not been without controversy, it serves as the epitome of the intelligent yet whimsical culture surrounding MIT. While it would be the most out-of-place building in any other environment, at MIT, the Stata Center fits. Located on Vasssar street, the Stata Center replaced the externally bleak Building 20, which housed

replaced building 20 Designed Spring 2004 Cost 300 Million Building 20 History and how it did not fit with the other nice MIT spots Home of Computer, information, and AI studies The time had come to build a facility, the physical form of which signaled the intellectual brashness, energy, and excelence held within by president page 1 MIT book Statement that MIT is bold and confident, but doesnt take themselves too seriously Functional-Parking structure Measuring its success- DO people like it? (students), does it work functionally? Is it cost efficient? Why did Frank Gehry do this? Looks like stacks of building blocks worried it may look like a cartoon, but it came out much tougher and anchored- page 5 MIT book Gehry goal was to find creative solutions within the context of the reality of budgetsPage 7 MIT book Above the fourth floor, the building splits into two distinct structures: the Gates tower and the Dreyfoos tower. Boston Globe architecture columnist Robert Campbell wrote a glowing appraisal of the building on April 25, 2004. According to Campbell, "the Stata is always going to look unfinished. It also looks as if it's about to collapse. Columns tilt at scary angles. Walls teeter, swerve, and collide in random curves and angles. Materials change wherever you look: brick, mirror-surface steel, brushed aluminum, brightly colored paint, corrugated metal. Everything looks improvised, as if thrown up at the last moment. That's the point.

Building 20 Built during WW2, temorary so it never received a name Radiation Lab Interior Design First goal was to meet program needs, rather than making something cool and trying to later fit with the functionality of the building MIT told them their goals, Gehry put it all together Heavily reliant upon Model Making Over fifty were used throughout Statas creation

Two level warehouse platform topped by two towers, providing separate identiy for different programs Goes up from public to private underground shipment center First floor cafeteria, gym, Multiple users with conflicting needs-public for students and privacy for researchers Storm water management system that collects rain and stores it in underwater collection cells. powered by solar enegery, the water is used for toilets or sent to citys main drainage Glass compromises privacy Tilted walls in one class make kids have vertigo Almost no insulation

Exterior Design Two entrances, Dreyfoos and Gates Base is a rectangular brick tower, but there are sculptural metal elements that are shaped sharply Built primarily of flat concrete slabs and columns Some slightly tilted columns Contrast of rounded buildings with sharp metal entrances Entrance is a canopy (gozinto) covered by titanium Raised garden built on campus side of building Open air ampitheatre Nearly all of the upper-terrace elements are finished in stainless steel Natural light permits through building through large numerous windows and glass walls Construction Needed Construction company with extensive technical knowledge Built by Beacon Skanska Realized the need for parking, built underground after city denied one that would increase traffic on local streets Floating foundation as permenant foundation to support building--designed so that the weight of building is balanced against weight of soil extracted from site Made 5.3 million-cubic-foot hole for building 2.6 million pounds steel Metal fits together like puzzle piece 2007 Lawsuit Against Gehry for negligence caused leaks to spring, masonry to crack, mold to grow, and drainage to back up.-http://www.boston.com/news/localarticles2007/11/06mit_sues_gehry_citing_leaks_in_300m_co mplex/

the center's outdoor amphitheater began to crack due to drainage problems, the suit says. Snow and ice cascaded dangerously from window boxes and other projecting roof areas, blocking emergency exits and damaging other parts of the building, according to the suit. Mold grew on the center's brick exterior, the suit says, and there were persistent leaks throughout the building. An executive at Skanska's Boston office yesterday blamed Gehry for problems with the project and said Gehry ignored warnings from Skanska and a consulting company prior to construction that there were flaws in his design of the amphitheater. Hewins said two consulting firms hired by MIT agreed with Skanska's assessment that Gehry's initial design was flawed and that the amphitheater had to be completely rebuilt. Robert Campbell, an architect who is a critic for the Globe, said it is inevitable that there will be problems in any unconventional building like the Stata Center, which has roofs colliding at different, odd angles. "There are things that were left out of the design," he said. "The client chose not to put certain devices on the roofs, to save money."[11] The lawsuit was reportedly settled in 2010 with most of the issues having been resolved. http://tech.mit.edu/V130/N14/statasuit.html

American culture and values of our time

My experience visiting Flowing water staircase Inside was very underwhelming, much more boring, but fit functionality Shows fun side of MIT, math can be fun

What it says about culture MIT pushes the limits, it is not afraid to be the first to do something It is quirky and it owns it Tells students to be individuals

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