They come from a time when peasants traveled on foot or, if they were lucky, on the back of an animal. Communities were less mobile, more cohesive. In that same spirit, the Hospitality Center is conceived as a compact social machine. A formal pedestrian axis cuts through the building, leading from the parking in the back to the lobby and out to the plaza. Inside, the cylindrical space is broken down into distinct segments.
Light spills down through a three-story well that seems carved out of the upper floors.
But it is its pure geometric form that gives the building a religious aura, even if its primary function is to accommodate growing bands of visiting tourists. To believers, its taut, circular exterior will conjure the perfect symmetry of God's universe. To the architect, Meier's design is a testament to his profession's 50-year struggle to cope with the perceived erosion of the civic fabric. Right or wrong, Modern planning methods have long been cited as a cause of social alienation. As such, when the Garden Grove complex opens, it will be one of the few places where the entire arc of that particular history will be on display.