Ben’s posthaven

"Herzog & de Meuron is known for creating highly imaginative buildings that stand in harmony with their purpose, materials, and site," remarked President Faulkner. "The new Blanton Museum will be not only an architectural landmark for The University and the city of Austin, but a building that will engage students, faculty, and visitors from all backgrounds with the world's artistic traditions."

"The tortured saga of the Blanton Museum of Art has a new and painful chapter. The latest involves Lawrence Speck, dean of the UT School of Architecture for the past six years, who resigned that position on Monday, November 22, in protest of the departure of prestigious Swiss firm Herzog & de Meuron Arkitekten from the Blanton project."

"I didn't ever see any [Herzog] designs that I felt would fit with the architecture of the campus," said Rita Clements, UT System regent and chairwoman of the System's Facilities Planning and Construction Committee. However, neither the campus' most noteworthy buildings nor those buildings surrounding the future museum are built in the campus master plan's style, said Kevin Alter, associate dean for graduate programs in the School of Architecture. The campus plan leaves room for architectural innovation for special buildings, Alter said. Alter expressed disappointment that the regents took a conservative approach to the museum."

"But for all the time, money, and hotheadedness, the final incarnation of the museum is strikingly unremarkable. Yes, its Texas granite base, epe wood overhangs, and sixteen-foot-deep arcades are lovely, but they're, well, decidedly traditional. The new Blanton is just a building, not a masterpiece."