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.

Old Journal Building, ho!

Once developer Buff Chace started saving downtown Providence by rehabbing old buildings into lofts, no building seemed to elude his grasp more dishearteningly than the Old Journal Building, built in 1906. It was downtown’s holy grail, but for years its … Continue reading

Posted in Architecture, Development, Preservation | Tagged , , , , , , , | 6 Comments

Insurance for Mack rebuild?

Some spectacular good news about the Glasgow School of Art, whose main building, designed by Scottish architect Charles Rennie Mackintosh, burned down a month ago. It seems the school’s insurance may be enough to pay for reconstruction after its recent … Continue reading

Posted in Architecture, Preservation | Tagged , , , , | 1 Comment

Fane tower = urban renewal

I cannot attend Wednesday’s public hearing before the ordinance committee of the Providence City Council. The committee will hear testimony about whether to raise the height limit in the Route 195 corridor by a factor of six on behalf of … Continue reading

Posted in Architecture, Development | Tagged , , , , , , , , , | 17 Comments

The architecture of the eye II

So whose eyes are these? Hint: She liked cat-eye glasses. Question: Is the beautiful pair of eyes behind these spectacles protected by lenses? Or could she have fun with her friends by wiggling her fingers through the frames? If so, … Continue reading

Posted in Architecture, Art and design | Tagged , , , , , | 11 Comments

The headache of modernism

CNN has run an article called “Looking at buildings can actually give people headaches. Here’s why.” Its author, psychology professor Arnold J. Wilkins of Essex University, in Great Britain, is right. Modern architecture can give you a headache, and it … Continue reading

Posted in Architecture | Tagged , , , , | 2 Comments

Bully for Chicago Union Sta.

In 2004, Chicago watched historic Soldier Field become a toilet bowl. In 2019, Union Station will become a self-inked address stamper. That’s the opinion of Elizabeth Blasius in The Architects Newspaper. “Will a proposed addition turn Chicago’s Union Station into … Continue reading

Posted in Architecture | Tagged , , , , , , , , | 5 Comments

The architecture of the eye

Above are the specs that protected the eyes of Le Corbusier from the world. He and I have one thing in common: poor vision. That is about to change. A week from tomorrow I will undergo cataract surgery. My vision … Continue reading

Posted in Architecture | Tagged , , , | 19 Comments

So blame it on Washington!

No other world capital so directly expresses itself in architecture as Washington, D.C. Its classicism was selected by George Washington and Thomas Jefferson to reflect the ideals of democracy, reaching back to those of Athens and Rome. Between 1800 and … Continue reading

Posted in Architecture | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , | 6 Comments

Hazlitt magazine: a mystery

This is not about architecture. Unlike some off-topic posts I write, there is no way to fabricate a link to this post’s normal subject matter. So far as I know, William Hazlitt, the critic of early 19th century London, friend … Continue reading

Posted in Art and design, Books and Culture | Tagged , , , , , , , | 2 Comments

Signs of a city walkabout

My friend Maria Ruggieri and I went walkabout – as Crocodile Dundee would say – in downtown Providence yesterday evening. We popped into a number of new restaurants, the first being Layali, a restaurant/bar (opened by owners of the late … Continue reading

Posted in Architecture, Art and design | Tagged , , , , , , | 13 Comments