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.

Trad building conference 3

Two recent phrases are new to me: Lean Architecture and Makers Space. Lean architecture seems to be what it sounds like, traditional work performed by the most simple methods that can be contrived, but that embrace tradition and ornament. The … Continue reading

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Mr. Wemmick’s castle

Here’s a great passage from Great Expectations, where Pip is introduced to the household of his guardian’s clerk, Wemmick: Wemmick’s house was a little wooden cottage in the midst of plots of garden, and the top of it was cut … Continue reading

Posted in Architecture, Books and Culture, Humor | Tagged , , , | 4 Comments

Trad building conference 2

When you arrive at the Back Bay station of the MBTA (and the T) you emerge onto Dartmouth Street and head toward Copley Square. Before you turn down Stuart Street to the Traditional Building Conference you behold this stretch, above, … Continue reading

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Trad building conference

I’ve just returned to Providence from the Traditional Building Conference, at the Boston Common Hotel and Conference Center, in Boston, which is, alas, being eyed for demo, to be replaced by a 35-story tower – that info, from 2012, is … Continue reading

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Federalism

The New Federalism, circa 1960-70 – the best modernism the most (of your) money can buy. Photographed and compiled by Benny Johnson. This, by the way, is sheer Brutalism (a style of modernism). Here is a comment from Erik Bootsma, … Continue reading

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Greater Kennedy Plaza

Here is a column I wrote last year about the nice proposal being frog-marched out of the picture: A greater Kennedy Plaza, yet again April 25, 2013 On Monday morning, my bus was at least 20 minutes late. Tired of … Continue reading

Posted in Architecture, Blast from past, Development, Providence, Urbanism and planning | Tagged , , , | 3 Comments

Aristocrification. Hilarious!

Here’s a totally over the top piece from The Onion. What a sendup!

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Postcard from Providence 1997

Here is the 1992 column mentioned in today’s post “Let’s ruin Kennedy Plaza” in which I suggest merging the plaza with Burnside Park to form a Central Park for Providence. I also placed the bus hub under “Kennedy Park.” On … Continue reading

Posted in Architecture, Architecture History, Art and design, Blast from past, Preservation, Providence, Urbanism and planning | Tagged , , | 4 Comments

Let’s ruin Kennedy Plaza

[This is not my weekly column in The Providence Journal. It is a post on my blog Architecture Here and There. I am on a week’s vacation.] * * * For an urban city bus hub, Kennedy Plaza’s intermodal station, … Continue reading

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Kennedy Plaza video

Here is a fascinating and extremely useful time-lapse video of Kennedy Plaza that, in two and a half minutes, shows buses and riders entering and leaving the plaza from 3:05 p.m. to 5:30 p.m. on Thursday, Nov. 1, 2012. To … Continue reading

Posted in Architecture, Old Video, Providence, Urbanism and planning | Tagged , , | 2 Comments