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.

Blast: CNU in Providence (2)

Posted on June 9, 2014 by David Brussat

Here is the second of those two columns: The New Urbanists in Providence II June 8, 2006  THE QUESTION most asked at last week’s 14th Congress for the New Urbanism was: If style doesn’t matter, why are we always discussing … Continue reading →

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Blast: CNU in Providence (1)

Posted on June 9, 2014 by David Brussat

The lengthy thread called “CNU is burning” began on the TradArch listserv with architect David Rau’s ringing expression of concern that the Congress of the New Urbanism, which recently met in Buffalo, is opening its doors too widely to modern … Continue reading →

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An ecclesiastical mood

Posted on June 8, 2014 by David Brussat

Something of an agnostic myself (and a Jewish one, to boot), I used to take my son to various churches not to give him a taste of theology (he was only 2 then, and we lived near Grace Church in … Continue reading →

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Palladio the Erroneous

Posted on June 7, 2014 by David Brussat

Along with Calder Loth, in his latest essay for the Classicist Blog at the Institute of Classical Architecture & Art, I mean no disrespect to Andrea Palladio, the 16th Century architect and teacher of classicism. His influence on architecture has … Continue reading →

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Blast from past: Casino at Waterplace

Posted on June 5, 2014 by David Brussat

Back when a casino was proposed for the Rhode Island town of West Greenwich, I wrote a column that bears rereading in light of the proposal to turn the Newport Grand slots shed into a genuine casino. By the way, … Continue reading →

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Column: Newport Grand: Guffaw or grandeur?

Posted on June 5, 2014 by David Brussat

  The appliqué of classical elements to the shed that once housed Newport’s jai alai fronton may take the cake in the sweepstakes for the world’s most ridiculous architectural renovation. Newport Grand, with its big red “S-L-O-T-S” sign emblazoned on … Continue reading →

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Union Studio enchantment

Posted on June 4, 2014 by David Brussat

The sketch above really threw me for a loop a while back, during the evolution of the 257 Thayer St. project, when Gilbane Properties (or Development) gave the flawed original design to Union Studio Architects in downtown Providence. I visited … Continue reading →

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Gilbane politely objects

Posted on June 3, 2014 by David Brussat

Robert V. Gilbane of Gilbane Properties is developer of residential apartments at 257 Thayer St., a new building that replaces nine old houses, which are gone. Construction has begun on the building. Bob objected to my portrayal, in last week’s … Continue reading →

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Henry Hope Reed live!

Posted on June 2, 2014 by David Brussat

Henry Hope Reed, who passed away last year, spoke to an audience a decade ago about the architecture of the U.S. Capitol at the National Building Museum in 2004, just before the publication of his excellent book on that building. … Continue reading →

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Koolhaas’s biennale

Posted on June 2, 2014 by David Brussat

Rem Koolhaas is director of the latest Venice Biennale of Architecture, the big cheese of international architectural exhibitions, which begins on Saturday, June 7. Predictably differentiating himself from his ridiculous predecessors by using the biennale to do something intelligent, he … Continue reading →

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