Author Archives: David Brussat

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About David Brussat

This blog was begun in 2009 as a feature of the Providence Journal, where I was on the editorial board and wrote a weekly column of architecture criticism for three decades. Architecture Here and There fights the style wars for classical architecture and against modern architecture, no holds barred. History Press asked me to write and in August 2017 published my first book, "Lost Providence." I am now writing my second book. My freelance writing on architecture and other topics addresses issues of design and culture locally and globally. I am a member of the board of the New England chapter of the Institute of Classical Architecture & Art, which bestowed an Arthur Ross Award on me in 2002. I work from Providence, R.I., where I live with my wife Victoria, my son Billy and our cat Gato. If you would like to employ my writing and editing to improve your work, please email me at my consultancy, dbrussat@gmail.com, or call 401.351.0457. Testimonial: "Your work is so wonderful - you now enter my mind and write what I would have written." - Nikos Salingaros, mathematician at the University of Texas, architectural theorist and author of many books.

Best skyscrapers 2016: Yawn

No surprise here, but Dezeen has published a list of the ten best skyscrapers of 2016. I’ve chosen to spotlight the pyramidal monstrosity in New York City by Bjarke Ingels, the Danish architect and founder of the firm BIG. The … Continue reading

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“Lost Prov” on the march

To update readers on my upcoming book Lost Providence, I finished writing it at the beginning of November, a month after I delivered its 99 illustrations to the publisher, which is The History Press, headquartered in Charleston, S.C. My editor … Continue reading

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A more Nordic Scandinavia?

The five nations of Scandinavia want to “build a new brand identity for the five countries that make up the Nordic region.” This is nuts. This is stupid. I am a quarter Norwegian so I can say this. I have … Continue reading

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The Trumpster’s Roark

It seems that Donald Trump and a host of his cabinet nominees are fans of the late Ayn Rand. Her philosophy of “objectivism” exalted the individual over the group. Her two best-selling novels are Atlas Shrugged and The Fountainhead. The … Continue reading

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Music and architecture, cont.

In October, Roger Scruton visited the belly of the musical beast, in Germany, to deliver a lecture against atonal composition. It was as if  the superhero of classical architecture, Henry Hope Reed, arose from his grave to address the celebrants … Continue reading

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Hope Point Tower(s) sliced?

Tonight at 5 the I-195 Redevelopment District Commission meets. On top of its agenda is a picture of the recently proposed Hope Point Towers project, missing two of its projected three high-rises. But the project itself is not on the … Continue reading

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A visit to East Greenwich

The other day I paid a brief visit to East Greenwich, one of Rhode Island’s most lovely towns. Main Street has long been a charming rendition of civic life, ever a pleasure to drive through or, better yet, stop and … Continue reading

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Skopje’s classical ambition

Architectural writers have had a field day criticizing Skopje for its classical makeover. Costly and often sloppy in the embellishment of Macedonia’s capital city, the new buildings feature a lot more enthusiasm than canonical scholarship. But the work is being … Continue reading

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Charleston misunderstood

Charleston’s modernist wannabes have placed their dream of more modern architecture in the hands of a blog called “Buildings Are Cool.” It is written in a breezy style by a young architect named Steve Ramos, who in a recent post … Continue reading

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My explosive TB blog post

My November blog post written for Traditional Building magazine was explosive, to say the least. It is about two buildings that blew up and a third building that bodes well to beautify its neighborhood by not blowing up its context. … Continue reading

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