Shop Talk: A Royal Architecture Critic, a Long-Awaited Music Building, and a Practical Art Building

Destined for the dustbin of architectural history? It’s the Ivor Crewe Lecture Hall, at the University of Essex. (Photo by Jerzy Kociatkiewicz)

Pure rubbish: The Prince of Wales said that the Ivor Crewe Lecture Hall, a signature building that opened at the University of Essex, in England, in 2006, looks like a “dustbin.” The insult, which officials at the university call “a throwaway remark,” maligns a prominent design by the firm Patel Taylor. Not that Prince Charles cares — he has shown a dislike for other modern architecture. But he has high praise for sustainable design.

Sing hallelujah: Music students at Northwestern University are rejoicing following an announcement that the university will break ground next year on a $90-million School of Music building. The Chicago Tribune reports that the university “has studied the feasibility of a new music building since at least 1931,” which seems unbelievable, given the rate of building on college campuses, the relative wealth of Northwestern, and the ranking of the music program there, which is consistently near the top.

We’re an art school, but we’re practical: The Art Center College of Design is planning to build a $50-million design-research center in Pasadena, designed by Frank Gehry, according to the Pasadena Star-News. Already officials at the university are playing down the design of the building. “It’s not going to be Disney Hall — it will be practical, a building that can function both as a library and a technical skills facility, but also be inspirational to faculty and students now and in the future,” said Richard Koshalek, president of the college.