A new dormitory at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology seems tailor-made for the school's super-geek culture. The building by Steven Holl has been compared variously to a giant Rubik's Cube and a 1950s computer punch card.
PLAYING UPON THE STAGE
"All the world's a stage," William Shakespeare wrote in As You Like It, but if he were performing in the 21st century, he'd probably take advantage of recent innovations in indoor theater design. In the spirit of the Elizabethan bard, a new building at the Oregon Shakespeare Festival in Ashland resets the standard for flexibility in repertory theaters.
PUEBLO LEGORRETA
How can architecture be contemporary and timeless at the same time? Ricardo Legorreta offers an answer in his design of the Zocalo condominium community in Santa Fe, New Mexico. The name of the development is Spanish for "town square," and its site plan reflects that quality.
Zocalo is organized in eight or nine clusters of "casitas," as Legorreta refers to the units. The casitas face open squares or small courtyards that reinforce a sense of community.