Monthly Archives: January 2015

By the book on the 195 land

Posted on January 13, 2015 by David Brussat

The front page of the Providence Journal today shows an architect with a pasteboard rendering of the new student housing he has proposed for the Route 195 Redevelopment District. It could have been swiped right from the 195 commission’s Toolkit … Continue reading →

Posted in Architecture, Development, Preservation, Providence, Urbanism and planning | Tagged , , , | 6 Comments

Providence’s ‘renaissance’

Posted on January 12, 2015 by David Brussat

The scalawag bugbear of an agitator Mary Ann Sorrentino on Sunday deplored downtown Providence in her Journal oped, “Walking through our moribund ‘renaissance’ city.” She describes strolling through town describing its former delights to her granddaughter. You can see the … Continue reading →

Posted in Architecture, Development, Preservation, Providence, Urbanism and planning | Tagged , , , , , | 5 Comments

Film of Charleston in 1934

Posted on January 12, 2015 by David Brussat

Here is a film of Charleston, S.C., taken three years after the city passed its landmark preservation law, first of its kind in the world. Its streets today are much more as they were then than in the recently posted … Continue reading →

Posted in Architecture, Architecture History, Old Video, Preservation, Urbanism and planning | Tagged , , , , | 1 Comment

Mr. Hublot’s urban future

Posted on January 9, 2015 by David Brussat

Originally posted on Architecture Here and There:
Mr. Hublot sits at his window overlooking the future of Paris. (Zeilt Productions) Here is Mr. Hublot, a short animated film that charmed me no end. The animator’s idea of a sort of…

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News on teaching beauty

Posted on January 9, 2015 by David Brussat

The American College of the Building Arts, in Charleston, S.C., has announced it will be moving from an historic jail in that city to an old trolley barn. The ACBA instructs students and pros in the almost lost arts, crafts … Continue reading →

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Kismet, but not in Mecca

Posted on January 8, 2015 by David Brussat

Originally posted on Architecture Here and There:
Mecca, Saudi Arabia, in 1951. (mic.com) Poster for 1955 musical “Kismet.” (stevelensman.hubpages.com) Makkah Clock Tower Hotel. (evaser.com) Clock Tower Hotel on chart of tallest buildings. (aaviss.com) The Kaaba at Mecca. (universalfreepress.com) Mecca in…

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Nathaniel Robert Walker: Architecture and food

Posted on January 8, 2015 by David Brussat

My friend Nathaniel Walker, who got his doctorate at Brown last spring and now teaches architectural history at the College of Charleston, has contributed this essay. * * * From the Ground Up: How Architects Can Learn from the Organic and … Continue reading →

Posted in Architecture, Art and design, Humor | Tagged , , , , | 94 Comments

Mayors and modernism

Posted on January 7, 2015 by David Brussat

Here is a column I wrote back on May 22, 2008, just after Boris Johnson’s election as mayor of London. At the time there was good news coming from the mouths of mayors in Italy and Czechoslovakia as well. Rome … Continue reading →

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Film of Chicago in 1940s

Posted on January 7, 2015 by David Brussat

Here’s a wonderful film of Chicago from the 1940s, discovered by film editor Jeff Altman at an estate sale on the South Side of the Windy City. A good portion of the film was taken from their air, courtesy of … Continue reading →

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Shubow on the march

Posted on January 6, 2015 by David Brussat

Justin Shubow has posted his second excellent essay at Forbes.online. His first, last month, analyzed Frank Gehry’s finger. His second analyses the flap aroused by the New York Times when it published an oped Dec. 15 twitting architects for ignoring … Continue reading →

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