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.

Hope Street’s bike trail trial

For a week concluding tomorrow, Hope Street between Olney and Lauriston, that is, from Tortilla Flats to the Frog & Toad, has participated in a temporary “urban trail” experiment to see how the street and its denizens feel about an … Continue reading

Posted in Providence, Urbanism and planning | Tagged , , , , , , | 8 Comments

Gebreyohanes to the rescue!

Restore Trust’s Zewditu Gebreyonhanes discusses the National Trust’s policies with Peter Whittle for New Culture Forum. (Restore Trust) In Britain, a new organization has arisen to push back against the backsliding of an old organization. Restore Trust believes that the … Continue reading

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

Beauty, Ma’am, if you can keep it

Raised river walk of boardwalk with chain-link fencing, its ugliness mitigated by ugly building. (City) Forces are gathering to undo much of the good work done in recent decades to improve the city of Providence. Our beautiful new waterfront seems … Continue reading

Posted in Architecture, Urbanism and planning | Tagged , , , , , , | 3 Comments

Morris Nathanson, R.I.P.

This is a sad moment for Pawtucket and the rest of Rhode Island, and a sad one for me. A tear runs down my cheek. We have lost one of the most influential and illuminating lights in the Ocean State’s … Continue reading

Posted in Urbanism and planning | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , | 4 Comments

Stone carving jobs for youth

National Public Radio reported three years ago that the need for stone carvers to help restore the Cathedral of Notre-Dame, in Paris, following its fire in 2019, has caused schools teaching that craft to mushroom in France. These young people … Continue reading

Posted in Architecture, Art and design | Tagged , , , , | 12 Comments

Rural life faces grim reaper

The shadow darkening over pastures and woodlands, farm villages and hamlets probably threatens the rural style of life more in Britain than in America, where only a remnant of family farms, dairy or crops, survives in New England and the … Continue reading

Posted in Architecture, Urbanism and planning | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , | 16 Comments

QE2 is dead, long live Charles

Anglophilia runs deep in this corner. Not because Great Britain has a royal family but because it has embraced Western civilization more than any nation. This fact explains its reign as Europe’s most powerful and influential country for centuries, nationally … Continue reading

Posted in Other countries | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , | 9 Comments

Good news for Labor Day

Bernheimer Architecture, a small design firm of 22 employees headquartered in New York City, has become the first in the industry to form a union. An article by New York Times correspondent Noam Scheiber reports that the employees’ campaign to … Continue reading

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

Authenticity in placemaking

AS220’s “Unpacking Authentic Placemaking” at the Peerless Building. Left to right, standing and on panel: Marc Levitt, Lucie Searle, Rick Lowe, Myrna Breitbart, Umberto Crenca and Andres Duany. (This and first photo below by David Brussat) Here is a relatively … Continue reading

Posted in Providence, Urbanism and planning | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 2 Comments

Ugliness at Brown explained

Brown University’s new performing arts center, in the form of a stunted square pillar with flutes squatting atop a rectangular glass lobby, is almost ready for its dedication. It will be called the Lindemann Performing Arts Center, named for a … Continue reading

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