The Mesa Laboratory of the National Center for Atmospheric Research, located atop Table Mesa at the west end of Boulder, Colorado, is recognized as one of the major works of architect I.M. Pei. Completed in 1966, the laboratory strikes many viewers as futuristic, but its design was strongly influenced by the ancient Indian cliff dwellings of Mesa Verde National Park in Colorado. With walls of reinforced concrete colored by locally quarried stone, the building harmonizes rather than competes with its dramatic backdrop, the monolithic sandstone slabs called the Flatirons. The laboratory's pristine mesa-top setting is maintained as a nature preserve.
The Mesa Laboratory of the National Center for Atmospheric Research, located atop Table Mesa at the west end of Boulder, Colorado, is recognized as one of the major works of architect I.M. Pei. Completed in 1966, the laboratory strikes many viewers as futuristic, but its design was strongly influenced by the ancient Indian cliff dwellings of Mesa Verde National Park in Colorado. With walls of reinforced concrete colored by locally quarried stone, the building harmonizes rather than competes with its dramatic backdrop, the monolithic sandstone slabs called the Flatirons. The laboratory's pristine mesa-top setting is maintained as a nature preserve.
Carlye Calvin
In my last “Weather Things” column, published Feb. 25, I mentioned NCAR, the National Center for Atmospheric Research. If NCAR sounds familiar to you, it’s because it has been in the news since December. It’s another piece of the weather puzzle that contributes to the quality and accuracy of weather forecasts and weather data in our country and beyond.
NCAR is in Colorado, and it is funded by the National Science Foundation (NSF). The NSF was created by Congress 75 years ago to keep the U.S. at the forefront of science. That followed World War II, the use of atomic energy, high-altitude jets and then space travel. NCAR is about 65 years old. Hold on — here come some acronyms.
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