Curveballs Are In Play

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It is also the best evidence in years that the design options made possible by computers, which allow architects to experiment with the structural stability of some very unconventional forms, are well along in transforming the language of architecture. That means a future with more buildings that are whimsical, sensual and possessed of a substantial wow factor. In the end, however much the Parasol works as a café or a concert venue, wowing may be its abiding function. That's one reason Terence Riley, the chief architecture curator of the Museum of Modern Art in New York City, decided to feature the Parasol in "On-Site: New Architecture in Spain," a show that runs at the museum through May 1. "This thing has the same purpose as a triumphal arch," he says. "It's a generator of wonder."