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.

Betsky waxes nostalgic

Aaron Betsky, regular columnist of Architect, mouthpiece of the American Institute of Architects, sees, in “Starchitects: The Next Generation,” the old guard of modern architecture being muscled aside by a new guard, who are winning big commissions and beginning to … Continue reading

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A boulevard, not a highway

The next big Providence project for a city that has seen many might be to turn the old Route 6/10 connector into a boulevard. The Providence Journal reports that the state’s transportation authorities seem surprisingly receptive to the idea as … Continue reading

Posted in Architecture, Art and design, Development, Landscape Architecture, Providence, Rhode Island, Urbanism and planning | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , | 10 Comments

“Sorry ’bout me building!”

[This post goes onto my blog but not out to my blog send list recipients until my email server quits intercepting my bulk posts under the suspicion that they are spam. I am sorry to say that for the time … Continue reading

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Kitsch or not too kitsch?

The question of kitsch has arisen often in discussions of architecture. A house whose classical portico is not backed up by the orders in the rest of its makeup might be kitsch. Or a house whose classical portico is backed … Continue reading

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Long competition shortlist

Aside from repeating the headline that the World Architecture Festival’s shortlist for World Building of the Year 2015 is way too long, there’s not much to say for this year’s candidates. Nor even a lot to say against them. Most … Continue reading

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Why Angry Birds are angry

You think the three television networks are the same? Not so! Last year’s Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade was broadcast by NBC and this year CBS got the job. What a difference a network makes! So yes, the Angry Birds have … Continue reading

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What is architecture about?

Stephen Fry, celebrated British actor and humorist best known on this side of the pond for his portrayal of Jeeves, manservant to Bertie Wooster in the TV series Jeeves and Wooster, published his first novel, Liar, in 1991, which also … Continue reading

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AIA artist exposes mods

  Above on this page, Chicago illustrator Lauren Nassef reinterprets everyday objects that have become symbolic and, rendered as speculative buildings, could be iconic. Please don’t sue her. The passage appears at the end of an article in Architect, the … Continue reading

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Descent from red to green

This “charming” video is difficult to resist, and will resonate, perhaps, with drivers everywhere, especially in big cities. Although I myself am strikingly immune to the phenomenon of road rage, driving in Providence seems to grow increasingly akin to the … Continue reading

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Our Downcity walkabout

On a clear, modestly chilly evening that just about defines New England in November, hundreds were out on the streets of downtown Providence. No doubt thousands more were inside on the seats of downtown’s robust round-robin of local restaurants and … Continue reading

Posted in Architecture, Architecture History, Art and design, Preservation, Providence, Uncategorized, Urbanism and planning | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , | 2 Comments