Building Stata: The Design and Construction of Frank O. Gehry's Stata Center at MIT (review)

A book can only provide a limited approximation of the reality of the subject it describes and presents. Building Stata goes just a bit further than most books of this type. It gives one the feeling that one has been part of the design process, been "on site" with the mud, concrete and steel, then finally strolled around the almost finished building.

This extra reality is due in large part to the brilliant photographs of Richard Sobol. He has managed to capture the spirit of the entire enterprise, from the excavation of the 5.3 million-cubic-foot-hole to the finished glistening metal exterior surfaces. The book is lavishly illustrated with color and black-and-white photographs, plans, diagrams and sketches. The photographs are as much about the people who created this architectural masterpiece as the building itself. The book recognizes the contribution of all involved in the project, from the philanthropists who made it financially possible, to Gehry, the mastermind behind the design and, equally, to the construction workers who brought the concept into material reality.

The book starts with a rather candid commentary by Frank O. Gehry. This is followed by various introductions that provide a brief, though very interesting, history of MIT and its relationship with Cambridge, Boston and Massachusetts. There are chapters on "Planning," "Design" and "Construction." The construction chapter is divided into sub-sections: "Excavations," "Concrete," "Structural Steel," "Masonry," "Metal," "Glass" and finally "Interiors." These sections give an in-depth pictorial insight into the complexity, difficulties and dangers involved in creating a building of this stature.

It is almost a miracle that the building ever got built, considering the nature of this project. As Mitchell mentions in the Afterword, "modern universities do not present themselves as singular architectural clients" (p. 132). The list of those who have an interest (and say) in the project is extensive and includes powerful corporation members, deans, alumni, donors, local community groups, students and academic faculty representatives. The success of Gehry's building seems partly to come from the attention paid to this diverse group of people, all with different ideas and needs.

MIT has been and continues to be a center for invention, technical excellence and radical innovation in both theoretical and practical engineering, science, communication and now IT and electronic engineering. It was this radical innovation that needed to be articulated and represented in the proposed new Ray and Maria Stata building. The main aspects of the charter were to: (a) bring MIT's computer, information and intelligence-science researchers under one roof on main campus; (b) create spaces designed to improve the productivity of humans rather than efficiently house apparatus; and (c) provide a gateway to the revived R&D center and transport hub north and east of the campus, "creating a distinctive icon for MIT in the twenty-first century" (pp. 16-17).

One of MIT's enduring traditions is the "fostering of creative revolutions by thinking outside of the box" (p. 17). Gehry's building by any standard is conceived "outside the box"; the external form and appearance is challenging and unique. The simplicity of the offices and work spaces belies the profound insight of Gehry and his associates in solving complex interaction problems and providing inspiring spaces for researchers to achieve the highest levels of technological innovation. In Gehry's own words at the beginning of the project, "What I want to do is make some kind of magic and take people someplace they've never been before" (p. ix).

This book is essential reading for anyone involved in building design and planning or in commissioning architecture. Part of the reason for the book's success is that, like the building it describes, it conveys a wonderful feeling of interaction at a human level. The author, Nancy Joyce (also MIT project director for the Stata Center) and Richard...