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.

More on R.I. and Amazon

In my Friday post “How R.I. can get Amazon” I pretty much asserted that beauty could tip the scales for Rhode Island and its capital Providence. That seems highly unlikely. How many corporate CEOs decide such things (or anything) on … Continue reading

Posted in Architecture, Development, Providence | Tagged , , , , , | 7 Comments

How R.I. can get Amazon

Amazon wants to build a second headquarters, presumably in some part of the country to balance its megapresence in Seattle, where it was founded. So, predictably, cities are lining up to bring Amazon home. Rhode Island will submit a bid. … Continue reading

Posted in Architecture, Development | Tagged , , , , , , | 13 Comments

Color film of Berlin in 1900

Although three decades had passed since the Franco-Prussian War and another decade and a half awaited World War I, the Berliners in this 1900 color film (with some 1914 scenes toward the end) of their city appear depressed. The elegance … Continue reading

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Carbuncle Cup victor of 2017

This year’s Carbuncle Cup, awarded annually (three years now) to the worst new building in Britain, goes to a development called Nova Victoria, so called because it is what you see when you emerge from the Victoria Station tube stop. … Continue reading

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Brief interlude at the DNA

When I was “Dr. Downtown” – my nom de plume at the Providence Journal – I was there at the creation of the Downtown Neighborhood Alliance, which met at the Regency under the presidency of my friend Maria Ruggieri, the … Continue reading

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“In the Modern tradition …”

Here is some more from High Rise, by Jerry Adler, a description of the process of erecting a skyscraper in Manhattan during the 1980s. Here Adler describes the design philosophy of Skidmore, Owings & Merrill – the modern era’s McKim, … Continue reading

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“Shabby little old walkups”?

Today at 7, Books on the Square, 471 Angell St. on Wayland Square, will host a book event for Lost Providence. But you already know that, so what about this: The landscape of New York in fact is filled with … Continue reading

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‘Lost Prov’ reading Thursday

Books on the Square will host a reading of an as yet undisclosed (and in fact unselected) chapter from Lost Providence on Thursday evening at 7 o’clock. I will also answer questions and sign copies of the book. My first … Continue reading

Posted in Architecture, Lost Providence | Tagged , , , , , | 1 Comment

Crane, yay! Building, boo!

Providence breathes a sigh of relief at the appearance, finally, of a crane on its horizon, standing between Canal and North Main streets just north of Steeple. Enjoy the crane, folks, because you may regret the building. Developed by Vision … Continue reading

Posted in Architecture, Preservation | Tagged , , , , , | 3 Comments

ICAA’s Winter Intensive

The search is on, in New England and throughout the nation, for students and young professionals to participate in an intensive workshop on classical design for a week plus a day from January 6 to 13 at the Institute of … Continue reading

Posted in Architecture, Architecture Education, Uncategorized | Tagged , , , | 1 Comment