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Author Archives: David Brussat
The big boxes of the future
A few days ago some interesting photographs landed in my email inbox as part of an online discussion of big-box retail and its design, a subject near and dear to my heart, as I have watched the evolution of suburban … Continue reading
Posted in Architecture, Development
Tagged Big Box Retail, ICAA, Kroger, Lowe's, Madison MS, Mary Hawkins Butler, Michael Rouchell, Providence RI, Sam's Club, Suburban Design, Taco Bell, Walgreens
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Seek the bottom of beauty
The headline of Joanne Ostrow’s article in the Denver Sun got my attention: “Is Denver’s contemporary architecture killing us?” Leaving aside that Denverites are not the only victims of modern architecture, the answer offered to Ostrow by the subject of … Continue reading
Posted in Architecture
Tagged Ann Sussman, Beauty, Denver CO, Denver Sun, Don Ruggles, Joanne Ostrow, Nikos Salingaros, Ruggles Mabe Studios
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HQ2 twofers and Providence
Two major eastern cities have won the HQ2 sweepstakes, and you have to wonder whether the twofers – Long Island City and Crystal City, outside Manhattan and D.C. – both realize they got half a loaf. How soon will it … Continue reading
Posted in Architecture, Development, Uncategorized
Tagged Amazon, Branding, CommerceRI, Crystal City, HQ2, Long Island City, New York, Providence RI, Urban Planning, Washington
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Sir Roger’s hunt for beauty
Sir Roger Scruton, the British philosopher and advocate of classical beauty and architecture, has been named chairman of a commission called Building Better, Building Beautiful to advise Britain’s government on issues of beauty in housing policy. This is fabulous news. … Continue reading
Committee’s Fane flip-flop
Learning nothing in its latest public hearing that it did not already know, the Ordinance Committee of Providence City Council reversed itself on Thursday to recommend that the council neuter the city’s zoning laws. It voted three to one to … Continue reading
Posted in Architecture, Development
Tagged City Planning, Fane Tower, Hope Point Tower, Jason Fane, Providence City Council, Providence RI, Urban Renewal, Zoning
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More on ‘Making Dystopia’
A book whose vile subjects have grown used to shucking off well-framed attacks for decades, and yet whose stranglehold on establishment thinking has loosened in recent years, is naturally offended by what could be their coup de grâce. So it … Continue reading
Review: ‘Making Dystopia’
[Review by David Brussat of Making Dystopia, by James Stevens Curl. Oxford University Press. 592 pages. U.S. publication date Oct. 23, 2018.] *** Modern architecture has hoaxed the world for well over half a century. Charlatans bred the founding modernist … Continue reading
Halloween in Providence
Last night’s Halloween trick-or-treat scene near our little house on Providence’s East Side showcased the charms of our more modest nook of the Blackstone neighborhood. On account of its evident friendliness, our district is usually mobbed by families from other … Continue reading
Posted in Architecture, Uncategorized
Tagged Angry Birds, Blackstone, Cities, Halloween, Hope Street, Porches, Providence RI, Trick or Treat, Urbanism
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How the Gothic got haunted
Here’s an interesting article, perhaps a day early, on the history of Gothic architecture – you know, with the pointed arches and towers reaching for the sky. All haunted houses are Gothic, are they not? Some say haunted houses are … Continue reading
‘Dystopia’ on sale in U.S.
On Monday, Making Dystopia, by British architectural historian James Stevens Curl, officially went on sale in the United States. I am mere pages away from its completion and will review it soon. It offers a comprehensive study of a monstrous … Continue reading
