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.

Ridiculouser and ridiculouser

I’m sure some readers will think I’m getting tedious, but there seems to be no end to the asininity parading as architecture. The above abomination has been proposed for Queens. Will there ever be a time when real people find … Continue reading

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Joze Plecnik. Gone fishing

The bridge above, in Ljubljana, Slovenia – I am assuming it is a bridge and not a dam – is by Slovenian architect Joze Plecnik (1872-1957), whose architectural style evolved, I gather, toward a sort of edgy Art Nouveau. He … Continue reading

Posted in Architecture, Architecture Education, Humor, Other countries | Tagged , , , , | 9 Comments

More architectural humor

Actually, some of the best humor is unintentional, so welcome to “How to Remake Your House into a Midcentury Modern Masterpiece,” or whatever it’s called. Very funny video, apparently from the HGTV network, Home and Garden TV. The question is … Continue reading

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Romantic humor

Life is odd, and so must be, by definition, blogmaking. I was trolling YouTube – “architecture humor” – trying to find something to match Monty Python in its ability to bring more readers to my blog. When I posted Monty … Continue reading

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Blast Past: Biltmore nose job

As mentioned in my last column about the Dean Hotel, the Biltmore almost received a sockdologer right in the kisser back in 2003. I condemned it as a “nose job for the Biltmore” in a column back then, and it … Continue reading

Posted in Architecture, Architecture History, Art and design, Blast from past, Preservation, Providence | Tagged , , , , , , | 7 Comments

My 777 conspiracy theory

A little (okay a lot) off topic, but like many I cannot forget about the poor jet and its passengers and their fate. But didn’t the abrupt switch away from the possibility of a hijacking and the constant focus, thereafter, on … Continue reading

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Column: The Dean and The Sportsman

Word in 2012 that the Sportsman’s Inn, on Fountain Street in downtown Providence, half a block from The Journal, was to become a boutique hotel was not altogether welcome. The likelihood of a cheesy, hip-wannabe hotel with a gauche modernist … Continue reading

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

Beauty and the river

This lovely photo appeared in today’s Journal, taken by staff photographer Bob Breidenbach. It shows a reflection in the Woonasquatucket River of the Waterplace Luxury Condominiums as a class of touring students strolls the riverwalk at left, passing from beneath the gently arched Exchange Street … Continue reading

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More from “Wolf Hall”

  Here’s another passage from Hilary Mantel’s Wolf Hall, the pageant of Anne Boleyn’s investiture as Henry VIII’s queen: And looking down on them, those other Londoners, those monsters who live in the air, the city’s uncounted population of stone … Continue reading

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Past blast: Confusion of the design reviewers

As an enticement to read Thursday’s column about the new Dean Hotel, on Fountain Street in downtown Providence, I offer a blast from the past. In 2006 the city permitted a developer to pull down the building on Fountain next … Continue reading

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