Old and New at Cornell Plantations

I had a chance to visit the Cornell Plantations at Cornell University earlier this week. The gardens there are gorgeous at this time of year, but I think I was about a week too early this year. And what flowers were blooming looked like the heavy frost had gotten to them. But what caught my eye was the stark contrast between the older Lewis building (below) and the new structure that was completed just last year. The Lewis building resembles an old English cottage with plenty of charm, while the new building (to me) looks totally out of place. The two buildings are right next to each other, but they are worlds apart! (click photos to enlarge)

I don't know what they were thinking, but probably someone with deep pockets had something to say about it. I'm hoping that I will eventually warm up to the place, but it just seems like such a cold austere building with no personality that it seems out of place. Maybe if I donated 20 mil or so, they would build one to my taste???