Architecture Update: Courthouse row

THE DESIGN of the proposed new magistrates' courts in Gloucester has led to a row involving the magistrates and the county and city councils. The pounds 8m building was to have been designed by Ahrends Burton and Koralek, architects of the original National Gallery extension scheme described as a 'carbuncle' by the Prince of Wales and rejected. County councillors and magistrates do not want a modern building so near to the cathedral, the Dominican Friary and the Victorian docks. They have invited Quinlan Terry, one of Prince Charles's favourites, to design a Neo-Classical scheme. English Heritage, the Royal Fine Art Commission, Gloucester Civic Trust and the city council all support the ABK design. The decision is now in the hands of the Lord Chancellor's office.