The newly refurbished Yale School of Architecture, long considered an architectural fiasco, gets a rave review in the Times.

…the great revelation is the way the muscularity of the exterior is used to disguise the lightness of the interiors. Like Frank Lloyd Wright in his 1904 Larkin Building, Rudolph sets his entry staircase off center, near a corner marked by a soaring concrete tower. A slender pillar rises out of the staircase’s edge. The pillar forces you to enter the space at a slight angle, and then slip between two towering concrete forms before climbing up to the lobby, as if you were passing through a prehistoric gorge.

The sense of spatial compression contributes to the shock you feel once you step inside. Light spills down through skylights. As you step deeper into the space, exterior views open up, including a loving view of Kahn’s glass facade. The effect is breathtaking, and it only intensifies as you reach the upper floors.

I’m astonished: When I was at Yale, the building was reviled, particularly by those who had to work in it. Now, sounds pretty great.