NSF NCAR Mesa Laboratory

I.M. Pei designed the NCAR Mesa Laboratory in the 1960s to blend in with its natural surroundings. It's a unique cluster of rough pink concrete towers sitting on a bluff at the south end of Boulder, right below the Flatirons. Run by the National Center for Atmospheric Research, it's still a working research lab but also open to visitors. Pei took his inpiration from the Mesa Verde cliff dwellings. The concrete is mixed with local sandstone and hammered rough, so it matches the pink rock behind it. The perfect pairing is working with sitting the concrete towers against the Flatirons. Shooting from the east helps the morning light land on both the concrete and the rock behind. The pink tones of both will be highlighted in the soft light. If your photography style is more focused on details you can move in close to experiment with all the different textures: the rough aggregate, the vertical slabs, the hard shadows between the towers. The surrounding trails let you climb for a higher angle, or create a scene of scale by framing the whole complex against the Front Range. Access to the Mesa Lab is free and open to the public, complete with parking at the top and a visitor center inside. You can shoot the exterior and wander the grounds freely, plus inside has exhibits and free tours during its open hours. Ideally plan to come early for the best light and an empty parking lot. (Boulder, Colorado, United States)