Monastic

National Center for Atmospheric Research

IM Pei’s Mesa Lab in Colorado - 1961

In 1960, Robert C. Seamans Jr., the head of the National Science Establishment (NSF), selected Boulder, Colorado, as the area for a unused investigate research facility to dwell and investigate on the topic of earth’s air. This research facility was to be the National Center for Air Investigate (NCAR), an intrigue center where researchers from different areas would work together to ponder the environment. The development of NCAR was a noteworthy venture sponsored by a critical state venture, and the plan was basic to its victory.

NCAR was designed to encourage interdisciplinary collaboration and to function as a self-directed community of peers. However, the isolated towers of the building reflected the founder’s vision of individual projects rather than collaborative ones. The author also discusses the founding of the High Altitude Observatory (HAO), which was established by the same founder as NCAR, and its architectural design. The HAO building was designed with simplicity and informality in mind and comfortably accommodated its scientific staff. The author concludes that while architecture can reflect scientific visions, it must also consider the practical realities of contemporary scientific research.