Ray and Maria Stata Center
The Ray and Maria Stata Center, also known as Building 32, is an academic complex in Cambridge, Massachusetts, USA. It is part of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), serving the Computer, Information and Intelligence Sciences, and was designed by the architect Frank Gehry.
Measuring 67,000 sq. m, the complex replaced the former Building 20 which contained the historic Radiation Laboratory.
The building design is typical of Gehry’s style, with a crinkled sculptural form that has been likened to 1920s German Expressionism. It incorporates tilting towers, multi-angled walls and whimsical shapes, in an attempt to challenge conventional laboratory and campus building design. The façade materials alternate between shiny metal and red brick, with drum-shaped yellow sections, while zig-zagging metal canopies reveal street-level entrances.
The building, which was completed and opened in 2004, has been divisive. Robert Campbell, Boston Globe architecture columnist, praised the building for being ‘a metaphor for the freedom, daring and creativity of the research that’s supposed to occur inside it’.
Howver, in 2007, MIT began a civil lawsuit against Gehry and the contractors, including Skanska, for various defects which they claimed had arisen due to ‘deficient design services and drawings’. The issues were apparently resolved and the lawsuit settled in 2010.
High-profile academics who have offices in the building include Noam Chomsky, Tim Berners-Lee and Richard Stallman.
[edit] Related articles on Designing Buildings Wiki
Featured articles and news
Net zero electricity grids BSRIA guide NZG 5/2024
Outlining the changes needed to transition to net zero.
CIOB Global Student Challenge 2024
Universitas Indonesia wins for second year running.
New project and cultural district described in detail.
The nature of EPCs, crticism and inaccuracies.
History, issues and redesign.
From waste recycling to energy performance the hierchy.
An introduction to WERCS and WEEE responsibilities
Dealing with 2 million tonnes of waste equipment a year.
Global BACS Market: analytics and optimisation
A BSRIA glance at building automation and control systems.
What it is and how to use it.
Types of insulating plaster by binder and insulant.
Investors in People: CIOB achieves gold
Reflecting a commitment to employees and members.
Scratching beneath the surface; a guide to selection.
ECA 2024 Apprentice of the Year Award
Entries open for submission until May 31.
UK gov apprenticeship funding from April 2024
Brief summary the policy paper updated in March.
For the World Autism Awareness Month of April.