Three years later: Does Gehry's Stata Center really work?

摘要

When Frank Gehry's Stata Center at MIT opened three years ago, it got a lot of press, especially for its novel appearance. I wrote at the time [record, July 2004, page 61]: "It 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." The Stata was even pictured in a Doonsbury comic strip, where a character calls it "pretty cool."