Prince angers university after 'dustbin' remark

THE Prince of Wales yesterday repeated his views on contemporary architecture by describing a modern flagship university building, named after a senior academic, as "a dustbin".

The Prince, who has previously been at the centre of controversy by branding one building "a carbuncle", yesterday criticised the appearance of the Ivor Crewe lecture theatre at the University of Essex in Colchester while addressing soldiers in the building. His remarks drew laughter and applause from his audience.

The Prince was meeting paratroopers prior to their deployment in Afghanistan from March, and addressing soldiers from the Second Battalion, the Parachute Regiment and their families. He told them: "I understand about 1,700 are crammed into what looks like a dustbin from the outside."

A spokeswoman for the university said the lecture hall, which is circular, built in to a hillside and made of stainless steel – was regarded as a "flagship building" on the campus.

Last month, the Prince claimed that the proliferation of tall buildings in London was creating a "positive rash" of new carbuncles.

He said Bath and Edinburgh were also under threat from such towers.