Monthly Archives: May 2017

Remember to save Alamo

Posted on May 11, 2017 by David Brussat

The Houston Chronicle’s article “The Alamo is forgettable. A controversial new plan could change that,” by Texas Architect’s Alyssa Morris, describes a proposal to “remember” the Alamo by tinkering with its site in San Antonio. But her description of the … Continue reading →

Posted in Architecture, Preservation | Tagged , , , , , , , | 7 Comments

D.C. classical tours return

Posted on May 10, 2017 by David Brussat

Washington, D.C., is among the nation’s if not the world’s most walkable big cities, and this year the town’s leading advocate for beauty, the National Civic Art Society, returns with a new slate of its walking tours. Moreover, because the … Continue reading →

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

A “McMansion Hell” blog

Posted on May 9, 2017 by David Brussat

Kate Wagner, who writes a blog called McMansion Hell, hates McMansions, and so do I. But I revere Kate Wagner’s ability to tell the difference between a McMansion and a mansion. They are different. I sometimes wonder whether the word … Continue reading →

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

The apotheosis of Ong-ard

Posted on May 7, 2017 by David Brussat

On Friday the top of my post “AD’s 24 ugliest skyscrapers” featured the Elephant Building, in Bangkok. Shortly after, Leon Krier left a comment informing me that the building’s architect, Ong-ard Satabrandhu, had had a Road to Damascus experience after … Continue reading →

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My Jane’s Walk, tomorrow

Posted on May 5, 2017 by David Brussat

Originally posted on Architecture Here and There:
Jane Jacobs in 1961, leading fight for West Village at Lions Head restaurant, in NYC. Jane Jacobs’s 101st birthday is coming up on Thursday, May 4, so my Jane’s Walk tour along the…

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AD’s 24 ugliest skyscrapers

Posted on May 4, 2017 by David Brussat

Architectural Digest has posted a list of the 24 ugliest skyscrapers in the world. Bully for AD. The building on top is in Bangkok. Is it the ugliest or the 24th ugliest? The editors do not say. I suspect that … Continue reading →

Posted in Architecture, Humor | Tagged , , , , , , , , | 10 Comments

Inside Drabble’s developer

Posted on May 3, 2017 by David Brussat

Margaret Drabble’s 1977 novel The Ice Age is supposedly about Britain and its existential angst during the ’60s and ’70s, but I just started reading it. For a few pages near the outset, at least, it concerns the career of … Continue reading →

Posted in Architecture, Development | Tagged , , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

Rampant peeping-Tomism

Posted on May 2, 2017 by David Brussat

With all the glass residential towers going up with floor-to-ceiling windows overlooking the hotshot cities of the world, the global market for binoculars and telescopes must be going haywire. But not everyone wants to be caught in the two-ring circus … Continue reading →

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

Living beyond the Chrysler

Posted on May 1, 2017 by David Brussat

With the new looser height restrictions in Manhattan’s Midtown East, it looks as if people with condos atop new towers soon to be built will be able to look down their noses from the clouds above the crown of the … Continue reading →

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