Monthly Archives: February 2017

Fond adieu to Horne’s Paris

Posted on February 18, 2017 by David Brussat

Here are several more passages lifted from the closing chapters of Alistair Horne’s engaging Seven Ages of Paris: Less felicitous were architectural scandals like the Tour Montparnasse (started in 1959, but not finished till 1973), greatest urban project since Haussmann, … Continue reading →

Posted in Architecture, Books and Culture | Tagged , , , , , , | 6 Comments

The eye, the mind, the heart

Posted on February 17, 2017 by David Brussat

Beauty is in the eye of the beholder, so sayeth just about everyone, but how does the mind influence what the eye of the beholder sees? If the eye informs the brain and the brain informs the taste, then there … Continue reading →

Posted in Architecture, Art and design | Tagged , , , , , | 2 Comments

Preservation in Charleston

Posted on February 16, 2017 by David Brussat

Should historic preservation be a quest for beauty or a quest for knowledge? That was the question at issue on Saturday in Charleston., S.C. Both are valid goals but I argued that beauty should be top priority. The panel, “Unfolding … Continue reading →

Posted in Architecture, Preservation | Tagged , , , , , , , , | 6 Comments

My TB post on style wars

Posted on February 15, 2017 by David Brussat

Here is the January post for my blog at Traditional Building: “Assertively Classical: Thomas Gordon Smith at Notre Dame” was written before the already intense political climate intensified by two- or three-fold after the inauguration of that successful entertainer. The … Continue reading →

Posted in Architecture | Tagged , , , , | 8 Comments

And the race is on!

Posted on February 13, 2017 by David Brussat

Providence. Friday, February 10. 7:45 a.m. This is a completely absurdist concept for a blog post, but my cab to Green Airport, outside of Providence, will (I hope) pick me up in 45 minutes. So here, to be brief, are … Continue reading →

Posted in Architecture, Uncategorized | Tagged , , , , , , , | 4 Comments

History of Maya Lin’s Wall

Posted on February 9, 2017 by David Brussat

Maya Lin’s Wall on the Mall, dedicated to Vietnam’s fallen warriors, has long struck me as being less than the optimal commemoration of a national tragedy. Its gash in the Mall looks as if it symbolizes a loss in conflict … Continue reading →

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Le era (er, error) de Corbu

Posted on February 8, 2017 by David Brussat

Here is what Alistair Horne has to say about Le Corbusier in his book Seven Ages of Paris. It is on page 330. In my opinion, he lets the guy off too lightly. … [A]fter 1919 most new building shifted … Continue reading →

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Chace plans downtown digs

Posted on February 7, 2017 by David Brussat

When it was announced several years ago that Providence developer Buff Chace would purchase the Journal Building and the parking lot across from it on Fountain Street, he expressed the hope of erecting a new building on the latter site. … Continue reading →

Posted in Architecture, Development, Providence, Providence Journal, Urbanism and planning | Tagged , , , , , , | 2 Comments

More from ‘7 Ages of Paris’

Posted on February 5, 2017 by David Brussat

Here are a couple more passages from Alistair Horne’s Seven Ages of Paris: The first two are from his section on the Second Empire: With so much borrowed from the past, was there (leaving aside the new apartment blocks) any … Continue reading →

Posted in Architecture, Urbanism and planning | Tagged , , , , , | 4 Comments

Yale lecture: Krier on Speer

Posted on February 4, 2017 by David Brussat

Léon Krier does not seem to dislike modern architecture as much as I do, but he may dislike it with much more passion. The architectural theorist, master planner of Prince Charles’s new town Poundbury, and practitioner of his own edgy … Continue reading →

Posted in Architecture, Architecture History, Video | Tagged , , , , , | 9 Comments