Blogging the TCA

Sundance Channel’s “Architecture School,” a show of which George Costanza would heartily approve, follows an architecture class at Tulane University designing an affordable house for an owner in New Orleans.

Students wrack their brains to keep heating and cooling costs down while making it easy and affordable to build, according to Thursday's TCA panel on the show.

“We don’t produce a house that we design. We produce a house that we discovered,” Byron Mouton, co-director of the URBANbuild program at Tulane.

The panelists said they discovered that while it will take decades to put New Orleans back together after Hurricane Katrina, the city was in a bad state to begin with, making housing now that much more important.

Sundance also presented “Spectacle: Elvis Costello With…,” a talk show with Mr. Costello interviewing high-profile guests about music. Among guests lined up are Elton John, Tony Bennett and Bill Clinton.

Mr. Costello said Mr. Clinton wasn’t an odd choice, because a politician needs the same skills as a musician in order to command a room. He added that Mr. Clinton probably was relieved in talking about music for three hours, as opposed to some high-pressure political idea.

When asked what music he's into now, Mr. Costello balked, saying if he put his stamp of approval on something, it might make it unhip.

—Andrew Krukowski