Page "I. M. Pei" Paragraph 35

Pei was able to return to hands-on design when he was approached in 1961 by Walter Orr Roberts to design the new Mesa Laboratory for the National Center for Atmospheric Research outside Boulder, Colorado.

The project differed from Pei's earlier urban work ; it would rest in an open area in the foothills of the Rocky Mountains.

He drove with his wife around the region, visiting assorted buildings and surveying the natural environs.

He was impressed by the United States Air Force Academy in Colorado Springs, but felt it was " detached from nature ".