National Center for Atmospheric Research Mesa Lab—Boulder, Colorado

National Center for Atmospheric Research Mesa Lab—Boulder, Colorado

This building is on a mesa just outside Boulder; in fact the grounds are a nature preserve. Due to this height, it is one of the first parts of Boulder that you can see if you drive in on highway 93. There is a small science museum (free admission) with guided tours at noon, open to the public 8-5 on weekdays, 9-4 on weekends and holidays. It was used as a location in the Woody Allen movie "Sleeper" because of the unusual shape
"You just cannot compete with the scale of the Rockies. So we tried to make a building that was without the conventional scale you get from recognizable floor heights—as in those monolithic structures that still survive from the cliff-dwelling Indians."
— I.M. Pei