At first glance, it looks like…what? A futuristic space ship perhaps?
The photo at left shows a segment of a 110,000-square-foot building, which was erected on the bucolic campus of a mid-Valley college in the early 2000s. The edifice is notable for several reasons, not the least of which is its idiosyncratic design. Made of brushed stainless steel, these wavy panels are perched atop cream-colored concrete walls, giving the impression that the structure is somehow afloat. The Toronto-born architect responsible for the building’s design has a resume full of similarly impressive edifices, most notably the Guggenheim Museum in Bilbao, Spain; in 2010, Vanity Fair christened him “the most important architect of our age.” And the price tag for this sculptural construction — which was three years in the making — was a cool $62 million.
The building’s purpose is to support the performing arts, and it is used routinely by students and professionals alike; every summer, it becomes the epicenter of a highly regarded arts festival that’s been dubbed “part boot camp for the brain, part spa for the spirit” by the New York Times.
Do you know the name of this undulating edifice? (Extra credit: Which local college had it built, and who is the much-vaunted architect who designed it?) Submit your answer by completing the form below. The first reader with the correct response wins a prize. Good luck!
