Silber Slapped

Bloomberg architecture critic James S. Russell, fresh off his smackdown of Renzo Piano, takes on our own John Silber.

The former Boston University bossman, as you remember, has written a book called "Architecture of the Absurd: How 'Genius' Disfigured a Practical Art." Silber's targets include Frank Gehry and a bunch of other architects who designed buildings across the river, A.K.A. Harvard-owned.

Russell takes it to the street for his critique, writing:

In his book, Silber is coy about showing the 13 million square feet at Boston University built on his watch, so I went up to have a look. The School of Management is a pudgy red-brick lump with cagelike and gratuitous louvers. It could readily be mistaken for a maximum-security prison. Inside, the disheartening maze of hallways sends a clear message: Management is an utterly anonymous enterprise, existing anywhere, aspiring to nothing.