MIT Stata Center

Frank Gehry's dizzying architectural puzzle
Noteworthy for: Love it or hate it, the Stata Center is a building that challenges visitors with its whimsical, daring design that is both Seussian and surrealist, inside and out.

Some call it a monstrosity, others call it genius. An apparent mash-up of madhouses, MIT's Stata Center seems to be collapsing in on itself. Insane angles jam up against teetering towers, and exteriors of steel, aluminum, and brick twist and swerve toward the sky. The interior is just as bewildering, with a serpentine walkway called the 'student street' that narrows and widens as its ceiling rises and lowers.
Housing the computer science and artificial intelligence departments as well as linguistics and philosophy, the building - with its maze of corridors, hidden courtyards, and unconventional floor plan - is meant to foster interaction across disciplines. Students getting lost on their way to class or falling into a rabbit hole may uncover new ideas, or an undiscovered wonderland.

Pick up a map at the information desk for a self-guided tour. Or let the building's internal illogic lead you on your own unexpected adventure.