It cannot be argued that Cambridge, MA, as the home of Harvard and MIT, is one of the most important centers of education and learning in the world. One word you probably wouldn’t associate with the city, which sits right next to the Charles River from its larger cousin Boston, is “strange.” Well, until you see the Stata Center, in which case “weird” might be too mild a word to use.
The creation of Frank Gehry at the Charles
As you tour the MIT campus, it’s hard to deny the charm of the buildings you pass, the flawless landscaping, or the incredibly clever conversations you eavesdrop. However, once you come across the Stata Center, your jaw may drop: to say that this place, designed by renowned Canadian architect Frank Gehry, is unlike any other place on the MIT campus.
In fact, it may be different from anywhere else in the country or even the world. Frankly, the Stata Center looks like it could collapse in on itself thanks to the rough and seemingly unnatural angles at which its sections meet, from walls to ceilings to columns. This says nothing about the building’s eclectic facade, which combines bold paint hues with brick and brushed metal accents, or the fact that no two parts of the Stata Center are the same – no floor plan, so to speak. The Stata Center is an assault on the senses, although it is up to you to decide if that is good or not.
What is the role of the Stata Center?
The Stata Center is more than an architectural marvel: it houses different departments of MIT, its researchers, its laboratories and its classrooms. And its design is more than just a device to provoke: Franky Gehry’s main mission to build it was to organize meetings and interact between the different departments of MIT, in order to catalyze the intellectual synergy that has propelled the institution to its leadership status. .
Although most of the scientists and students who work and study at the Stata Center come from the disciplines of Artificial and Intelligent Science, the building facilitates conversations and collaborations across many disciplines, which also include philosophy, linguistics, and genetics. Even within departments, research at the Stata Center is based on groups, rather than individuals, a fact that is due to its “fractal” design sensibilities.
How to visit the Stata Center
The Stata Center is in the heart of the MIT campus, not far from most hotels in Cambridge, which means you can easily marvel from the outside as you walk through the MIT campus. However, if you want to get into the Stata Center, your best bet is to book a student-guided tour, ensuring you don’t accidentally wander somewhere you shouldn’t and disturb the MIT scientists as they do their important work.
For more information on how to schedule a tour of the MIT campus, call 617-253-4795 Monday through Friday and speak with an operator. Or, if you are already on campus, stop by the lobby of the university’s Building 7, which is where the tours depart, and speak to one of the student tour guides who is waiting in the lobby.
