Monthly Archives: October 2019

Two fumbles in Providence

Posted on October 28, 2019 by David Brussat

Among the eight or so new buildings erected in Providence with virtually zero opposition in the past two years are a pair that ought, by now, to have been reviewed here. And I will get to that. But first: The … Continue reading →

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They fought to save London

Posted on October 23, 2019 by David Brussat

I wonder what inspired Simon Jenkins, one of the few sensible architecture critics in Britain, to pen his recent lengthy essay in The Guardian, “Concrete Bungle,” subtitled “How public fury stopped the 1970s plan to turn London into a motorway.” … Continue reading →

Posted in Architecture, Preservation | Tagged , , , , , , , | 3 Comments

Good news from Big Apple

Posted on October 20, 2019 by David Brussat

The New York Times has published an article that, because it is in the New York Times, is sure to uplift the status of beauty on the architectural scene, in that city and elsewhere. “Bygone Romance Makes a Return” (“The … Continue reading →

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SOM stole kid’s WTC design?

Posted on October 16, 2019 by David Brussat

The kid, Jeehoon Park, was a student of architecture at the Illinois Institute of Technology in 1999 when he designed for his senior thesis a building that looks like 1 World Trade Center, opened in 2014. It overtook Chicago’s Willis … Continue reading →

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Patinkin errs on Corso tower

Posted on October 14, 2019 by David Brussat

Mark Patinkin, a columnist for the Providence Journal, wondered in Friday’s paper “Is Providence turning into the city of ‘no’?” He rushes to the defense of a newly proposed building in the Jewelry District that is opposed by the Jewelry … Continue reading →

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Gorham silver show @ RISD

Posted on October 10, 2019 by David Brussat

Once you are inside RISD’s Moneo monstrosity of an addition (2008) to its Art Museum you find that the interior is almost as tedious, but unlike the exterior it is, on occasion, graced with art so beautiful that you wonder … Continue reading →

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Hotel must gild College Hill

Posted on October 8, 2019 by David Brussat

Lippitt House, at Hope and Angell, hosted the College Hill Neighborhood Association’s community meeting to hear about and comment on a hotel proposed by Edward F. Bishop and Smart (we’ll see) Hotels at Angell and Brook. Ed Bishop is a … Continue reading →

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Hudson Yards as Dildoville

Posted on October 6, 2019 by David Brussat

The other day a correspondent sent me, under the title “Beyond parody,” an item from Architect’s Newspaper headlined “Design firm turns Hudson Yards towers into sex toys.” This family blog must of course issue a firm “No comment.” The late … Continue reading →

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

The fate of the Fane tower

Posted on October 2, 2019 by David Brussat

Last Wednesday, the I-195 Redevelopment District Commission approved the design of the proposed Fane tower in the city’s Jewelry District. The press duly noted the project’s latest step forward, but in fact hope is quite dim for the queer-looking 46-story … Continue reading →

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