Two years earlier than completion, its notorious “pepperpot” elevation appeared on the frontispiece of Contrasts , an influential tract by the Gothicist A. W. N. Pugin, for example of the degeneracy of the classical type. Even William IV thought the building a “nasty little pokey gap”, while William Makepeace Thackeray referred to as it “slightly gin shop of a constructing”. The twentieth-century architectural historian Sir John Summerson echoed these early criticisms when he in contrast the association of a dome and two diminutive turrets on the roofline to “the clock and vases on a mantelpiece, solely much less useful”. Sir Charles Barry’s landscaping of Trafalgar Square, from 1840, included a north terrace in order that the building would seem like raised, thus addressing one of many factors of criticism.

Since 2008, the group opened RURU Gallery, which provides an exhibition space for young artists and curators. The group additionally facilitates Jakarta 32°C, a biennale showcasing the work of Jakarta students Picture of Arts , and the worldwide biennial OK. Video Festival, in addition to publishing Karbon, the only Indonesian up to date art journal.