Monthly Archives: January 2016

The “of our time” bugaboo

Posted on January 13, 2016 by David Brussat

I have just concluded Brent Brolin’s Architectural Ornament: Banishment & Return, written in 1985 and republished in 2000. It tells the history of how the meaning of innovation and creativity was lost in the 19th and 20th centuries, leading to, … Continue reading →

Posted in Architects, Architecture, Architecture Education, Architecture History, Art and design, Development, Humor, Preservation, Urbanism and planning | Tagged , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

RISD rides to 195 rescue

Posted on January 12, 2016 by David Brussat

Governor Raimondo has invited the Rhode Island School of Design to help bring more innovation to the I-195 corridor. She has also hired the state’s first chief innovation officer, former CIA wonk Richard Culatta, who will work in splendid isolation … Continue reading →

Posted in Architects, Architecture, Architecture Education, Architecture History, Art and design, Development, Providence, Rhode Island, Urbanism and planning | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

The future of Charleston?

Posted on January 11, 2016 by David Brussat

Say it ain’t so, Joe! Say it ain’t so! Why does such a lovely, lovable city as Charleston seem so eager to commit civic suicide? It would not be easy. Charleston is healthy and strong. But, sadly, it is headed … Continue reading →

Posted in Architecture, Architecture Education, Architecture History, Art and design, Development, I-195 Redevelopment District, Preservation, Providence, Urbanism and planning | Tagged , , , , , , | 2 Comments

Fogarty building never liked

Posted on January 10, 2016 by David Brussat

Now that it seems as if the Fogarty Building will finally come down, the Brutalist government structure next to the Providence Journal Building downtown was treated to a love-fest in the Journal today. “Time’s Up” reads the headline of reporter … Continue reading →

Posted in Architects, Architecture, Architecture Education, Architecture History, Art and design, Development, Providence, Providence Journal, Urbanism and planning | Tagged , , , , , , , | 5 Comments

Rise and fall of Haverhill

Posted on January 9, 2016 by David Brussat

John Massengale sent to the Pro-Urb listserv a 45-minute documentary, “Woolworth’s: Remembering Haverhill’s Shopping District,” produced just last year by Historic New England. He said it was more than you might want to know about the northern Massachusetts shoe-manufacturing town … Continue reading →

Posted in Architecture, Architecture History, Art and design, Blast from past, Development, Preservation, Urbanism and planning, Video | Tagged , , , , , , | 1 Comment

Painting in Porto, Port.

Posted on January 8, 2016 by David Brussat

Malcolm Millais, author of Exploding the Myths of Modern Architecture, is a British engineer and architect who has retired to Porto, in Portugal, where he has taken up the pastime of painting – as Churchill did after his Gallipoli military … Continue reading →

Posted in Architecture, Art and design, Other countries, Photography, Providence | Tagged , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Two lovely local buildings

Posted on January 7, 2016 by David Brussat

I don’t know what’s gotten into me, but I thought I’d just post photos of a couple very nice local buildings, a house and a school office, on the East Side of Providence. Maybe the 40th anniversary of the East … Continue reading →

Posted in Architects, Architecture, Architecture Education, Architecture History, Art and design, Preservation, Providence | Tagged , , , , , , , | 13 Comments

Garages can be beautiful

Posted on January 6, 2016 by David Brussat

Here is the column I wrote for the Providence Journal about the design of parking garages, as promised in “Garage design in Providence.” Seeing the latest proposed garage design, a friend thought at first that the headline was “Garbage design … Continue reading →

Posted in Architecture, Architecture Education, Architecture History, Art and design, Development, Providence, Providence Journal, Urbanism and planning | Tagged , , , , , | 3 Comments

Rome’s exaltation explained

Posted on January 6, 2016 by David Brussat

I’ve always been intrigued by Rome – which I visited in 1990 – not just by its extraordinarily beauty and its ruins, but by the story of how its ancient leaders conceived the city as a crescendo of classicism in … Continue reading →

Posted in Architecture, Architecture Education, Architecture History, Art and design, Books and Culture, Preservation, Urbanism and planning | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

Garage design in Providence

Posted on January 5, 2016 by David Brussat

So the most shovel-ready modernist abomination in Providence is apparently about to begin construction. Maybe it’s not too late to redesign the garage so that it fits into its setting. It is right next to a neoclassical power plant being … Continue reading →

Posted in Architecture, Architecture History, Art and design, Blast from past, Development, Providence, Rhode Island, Urbanism and planning | Tagged , , , , , , , | 6 Comments