MIT's Building 20: Design: Institute Archives & Special Collections: MIT

It is said that Building 20 was designed in one day. The barracks style is plain, and many people would describe the building as shabby, dingy, or unpretentious. However, as Stewart Brand astutely points out in his book, How Buildings Learn: What Happens to Buildings After They're Built, Building 20's lack of style and its low-visibility have allowed its occupants to be wonderfully creative and successful within its walls.