Monthly Archives: August 2018

Mies edits van der Rohe

Posted on August 31, 2018 by David Brussat

Most people know that one of the three world-historical founders of modern architecture, Charles-Édouard Jeanneret-Gris, changed his name at age 33 to Le Corbusier (the crow). Not until I got to page 126 in James Stevens Curl’s Making Dystopia did … Continue reading →

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Joint prize for dynamic duo

Posted on August 29, 2018 by David Brussat

My Traditional Building just arrived and reveals that Nikos Salingaros and Michael Mehaffy have received this year’s Clem Labine Award from the magazine. Congratulations to them both. Much of my education regarding how science affects architecture and urbanism comes from … Continue reading →

Posted in Architecture, Urbanism and planning | Tagged , , , , , , , , | 6 Comments

“Lost Providence” at age 1

Posted on August 28, 2018 by David Brussat

My dear wife, Victoria, just a moment ago reminded me, for some reason, that today a year has passed since the publication of my first book, Lost Providence. It had sold 548 copies as of the end of last year. … Continue reading →

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Bayley on Curl’s “Dystopia”

Posted on August 27, 2018 by David Brussat

Stephen Bayley, critic for The (U.K.) Spectator, has written “Modernist architecture is not barbarous – but the blinkered rejection of it is,” the second review (that I’ve seen so far) of James Stevens Curl’s Making Dystopia: The Strange Rise and … Continue reading →

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R.I. still has WaterFire

Posted on August 26, 2018 by David Brussat

The PawSox may be goners, but Rhode Island remains chock full of excellent attractions. One list summarizing what to see or do in the Ocean State comes from Jim Gillis’s column in the Newport Daily News lamenting that “PawSox move … Continue reading →

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Preservation in Newport

Posted on August 22, 2018 by David Brussat

Preservationists have a vital but relatively simple job that has been made more difficult, over the years, by preservationists. The purpose of preserving a historic building is to sustain the beauty it brings to its setting. How to do this … Continue reading →

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Rome: Who are those guys?

Posted on August 20, 2018 by David Brussat

Who are those guys? Good question. But first, I must point out that indecipherable notes on a recent lecture force me to leapfrog a topic I’d intended to address today and grab a quicky topic instead. I’ve chosen to simply … Continue reading →

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

ProvSox spike smote PawSox

Posted on August 18, 2018 by David Brussat

If the PawSox do decamp for Worcester in two years, as seems certain but is not, there is blame enough to go around. The team owners say Rhode Island did not really want them, and they got their first taste … Continue reading →

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

Semes in Newport Thursday

Posted on August 15, 2018 by David Brussat

Steven Semes will be speaking at 6 p.m. tomorrow, Thursday, at the Redwood Athenaeum & Library about various fascinating matters which, while international in scope, are of interest not just to preservationists but to those interested in architecture in Newport. … Continue reading →

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Beyond translation indeed!

Posted on August 13, 2018 by David Brussat

It takes an act of will to make it all the way through a passage of hilariously sublime bureaucratese – quoted from a university prospectus – sent recently by architectural historian James Stevens Curl to a group of his friends … Continue reading →

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