THE BUILDING WALES MOST NEEDS - The Traditionalists Respond

The firm of Highgrove, Young & Fogey  have thrown their trilby into the ring with this proposal for a Welsh National School of Art to be built on the shores of Swansea Bay as part of the new Swansea University campus. Designed in the strictly anticarbunculist manner preferred by their best known patron, the Duchy of Carmarthen, HYG have produced a rigid collegiate form which will encourage the proper teaching of traditional methods of drawing and painting. The painting studios are, with the main hall and galleries, elegantly proportioned and a tour de farce of classical motifs. No cornice has gone unswagged, no lily ungilded in this painstaking recreation of Swansea's Golden Age.  The high quality of finish indicated for the upper floors is in contrast to that of the servants quarters which appear to be below average tidal level. There is, for example, a marked difference in the standard of appointment in the Disrobing Room provided for life models adjacent to the Drawing Studios and that of the Second Under Butlers Pantry below. 
Similarly, the suite of rooms provided for the Master of College commands a sweeping panoramic view of Mumbles Head and the North Devon Coast beyond, while the student Refectory Hall enjoys an uninterrupted aspect of Port Talbot. 

Sustainability is equated with durability in this proposal, the structure being built to last through many generations. Maximum use is made of natural light, the massive chandeliers being principally for decorative effect and the minimal provision of heating will, the architects suggest, attune the occupants to the natural rhythms of the seasons and the climate of Swansea Bay. The only noticeable departure from this regime is in the extensive wine cellars which have state of the art air conditioning in the separate compartments allocated for differing chateaux, regions and vintages. The total absence of any car parking spaces is in marked contrast to the wide turning circle for a carriage and four and extensive stabling (not shown).

Things are as they should be and people know their place in the world of HY&G.