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.

Tower with, not against Prov

Unsurprisingly, the Providence Journal editorialized today in favor of the three residential towers, dubbed Hope Point Towers, proposed by New York developer Jason Fane. On the same day, in “Man behind Providence high-rise proposal has gotten well connected,” ace reporter … Continue reading

Posted in Architecture, Urbanism and planning | Tagged , , , , , | 9 Comments

Ruskin’s “Two Paths” speech

Among the platitudes of architecture these days is the modernist credo that innovation is the chief merit of the building arts. Innovation is important, but modernists have a narrow definition of the term that limits their vision. John Ruskin, the … Continue reading

Posted in Architecture, Architecture History, Uncategorized | Tagged , , , , , | 3 Comments

America gets its dome back

It has been disconcerting if not downright depressing to see the dome of the United State Capitol shrouded in scaffolding these past two years. Ditto the Washington Monument when it was being repaired. Unlike the great obelisk, no calls to … Continue reading

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Towering towers in La Prov?

A New York development firm with offices in the Rockefeller Center has proposed to build three residential towers, in phases, rising 33, 43 and 55 stories up from the vacant Jewelry District land where Route 195 used to be. All … Continue reading

Posted in Architecture, I-195 Redevelopment District, Urbanism and planning | Tagged , , , , , , | 5 Comments

Tour of superior courthouse

A while back, R.I. Supreme Court Justice Gilbert Indeglia, whom I’d met after giving a talk on architecture in Kingston, near URI’s main campus, a couple of years ago, invited me to tour the Providence County Courthouse. I’d been there … Continue reading

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

Vote’s “style wars” tea leaves

It’s hard to say, to say the least, what, if anything, Donald Trump’s victory may mean for architecture. It is easier to imagine that a Hillary Clinton win would have meant more of the same for how we build. Trump … Continue reading

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First kill all the bureaucrats

Let’s see if I have this correct: The 110-year-old Christ Church on West 36th Street, in Manhattan’s Garment District, was purchased by a developer who wanted to save the facade to be incorporated into the design of a new hotel. … Continue reading

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Pix of Moran’s Samaritaine

Last night I posted on Connor Moran’s elegant counterproposal for the Rue de la Rivoli side of La Samaritaine, the famous Paris department store. The Notre Dame grad, a native of Naperville, Ill., who now works for Ferguson & Shamamian, … Continue reading

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Which way will Paris go?

Two items regarding the direction of Paris. First is a plea from architectural theorist Leon Krier that Paris’s Mayor Hidalgo find someone other than Dominique Perrault to redesign the portion of the Ile de la Cité (site of Notre Dame … Continue reading

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Comments on my PPS post

Because many readers do not read the comments section of a blog, I am publishing two comments from eminent theorists who have read my blog post “Why preserve? PPS speaks.” They are from Steven Semes, a Notre Dame professor of … Continue reading

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