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.

Architecture and happiness

Here is my column “The architecture of happiness” from Dec. 7, 2006, about the book of that name by Alain de Botton. The author has produced a video about London that is excellent, but which seems to contradict his own … Continue reading

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De Botton’s sore bottom line

Alain de Botton, who wrote a rollicking book a while back called The Architecture of Happiness, has produced a video, “The Ruin of London,” expressing his horror at what is happening in the favorite city of the super rich. He … Continue reading

Posted in Architects, Architecture, Art and design, Development, Other countries, Urbanism and planning, Video | Tagged , , , , , | 1 Comment

We dodge a Gmail spanking

Originally posted on Architecture Here and There:
Help! One click can let your tech-challenged correspondent keep sending these Architecture Here And There posts to you. You need not don the above Rube Goldberg device. That is my job. Your job:…

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Reverend, grace and Grace

Had a very nice talk by phone with the Rev. Jonathan Huyck, of Grace Episcopal Church, and he assured me not just that nothing was set in cement regarding the design of a proposed new parish hall (possibly of glass), … Continue reading

Posted in Architecture, Art and design, Development, Preservation, Providence, Urbanism and planning | Tagged , , , , | 1 Comment

We dodge a Gmail spanking

Help! One click can let your tech-challenged correspondent keep sending these Architecture Here And There posts to you. You need not don the above Rube Goldberg device. That is my job. Your job: Hit “Follow,” the button just to the … Continue reading

Posted in Architects, Architecture, Architecture Education, Architecture History, Art and design, Development, Humor, Preservation, Providence, Urbanism and planning | Tagged , , , , , , , | 3 Comments

More grace in glass additions

In researching glass additions worthy of downtown Providence’s Grace Episcopal Church, I came across the image above of the Royal Opera House (formerly Covent Garden), designed by Edward Middleton Barry and completed in 1858, with its elegant glass addition followed … Continue reading

Posted in Architecture, Architecture Education, Architecture History, Art and design, Development, Preservation, Providence, Urbanism and planning | Tagged , , , , , , , | 3 Comments

Failure of grace alert!

The Providence Journal reports today in “Age and Grace” that Grace Episcopal Church, in downtown Providence, plans as part of its restoration to add a new glass addition. This festered within me all day, and so I went downtown to … Continue reading

Posted in Architects, Architecture, Art and design, Preservation, Providence, Urbanism and planning | Tagged , , , , , , | 4 Comments

Pandion as African Queen

There were rocks in the channel now, with the white water boiling around them, and Rose saw them coming up towards her with terrifying rapidity. There was need for instant decision in picking the right course, and yet Rose could … Continue reading

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Lists and lists of restaurants

Providence has a reputation for fine dining and restaurants that grow old and increasingly beloved. Le tout foodie Prov is mourning the announced closure, on Aug. 9, of the Rue de L’Espoir. But as GoLocalProv.com’s story “Restaurants That Are Sadly … Continue reading

Posted in Art and design, Blast from past, Books and Culture, Development, Preservation, Providence, Urbanism and planning | Tagged , , , , , | 8 Comments

Eames golden mean oops

A brief squib in the Providence Journal a couple of days ago about a mistake in the Mathematica exhibit at the Boston Museum of Science had me wondering. The error was discovered by a 15-year-old, Joseph Rosenfeld. It appears that … Continue reading

Posted in Architects, Architecture, Art and design, Humor | Tagged , , , , , , | 6 Comments