MIT Green Building (Cambridge, Massachusetts)

 Massachusetts Institute of Technology, high-rise, 1964_construction, academic building, Modern (architecture)

The Cecil and Ida Green Building, also called the Green Building or Building 54, is an academic building at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, Massachusetts. It houses the Department of Earth, Atmospheric, and Planetary Sciences (Course 12). It was designed by I. M. Pei, a former student at MIT, though he later came to dislike the Green Building because its design caused airflow problems and strong winds through the open-air first story. It is the tallest building in Cambridge; local MIT legend claims this is because Pei somehow circumvented city ordinances by making the first floor of the building not count as a floor, as it is mostly not enclosed in the building. The penalty for being found on the roof of the Green Building is ten times larger than for any other building, making it a risky spot for hacking.