 The building's design, which echoes that of nearby waterfront gantry cranes, has been celebrated by many critics for its openness, represented by its exterior grand staircase, and willingness to embrace the surrounding harbor.The ICA was the recipient of the 2007 Harleston Parker Medal, awarded to "the most beautiful piece of architecture" in Boston.It has also been called a "botched box" by architecture critic Philip Nobel, who criticised it for having poor circulation, a dull façade facing land, and casting into shadow the harborside promenade that Elizabeth Diller once referred to as "Boston’s only viable civic space."