Recycled Safety Trumps Original Design

Nashville’s new Schermerhorn Symphony Center has received plenty of raves since opening two weeks ago. But not everyone loves the design: “The symphony’s leaders could have chosen to make a bold statement about the present and future of classical music in their city, as orchestras in Los Angeles, Miami and Philadelphia have done in recent years by commissioning Frank Gehry, Cesar Pelli and Rafael Vinoly, respectively. Instead they turned to David Schwarz, a capable architect but hardly a visionary, who has delivered exactly what was ordered: a custom-made amalgam of recycled architectural elements from the past, most connected only tenuously to Nashville.”