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.

Save twin B’way cast-irons

In its length and breadth, Manhattan is a free art museum for all of those who will open their eyes, whether they are Knickerbocker heirs or hoboes from Hoboken. To walk down the street is to encounter museum-worthy works of … Continue reading

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

Graffartists are not people

Okay, if Brutalist architects are people (see previous post), then I must admit graffartists are, too. Yet how sad and appalling to read in today’s Providence Journal that David Macaulay’s delightful mural near the State Offices exit from Route 95 … Continue reading

Posted in Art and design, Urbanism and planning | Tagged , , , , , , , | 7 Comments

Brutalists are people, too

Just very bad people. How bad is detailed in an entertaining, if depressing, article on the Londonist website entitled “How Brutalism Scarred London.” The closest I can come to ripping off the veil of anonymity donned by the article’s author, … Continue reading

Posted in Architecture, Uncategorized | Tagged , , , , , , , | 7 Comments

Hooked on bridges, are ya?

Well, here’s a treat for you. This collection of 29 “Stunning Bridges From Around the World” has some real beauts, plus a few bummers thrown in to help you appreciate the beauts a little more. The group, from the website … Continue reading

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

Crystal Palace of the mods

[In seeking to confirm that former RISD Prof. Derek Bradford was, in fact, born in London I learned to my great dismay that he had passed away in January. Derek and I maintained a most friendly badinage for years from … Continue reading

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“Lost Providence” update

A month from today Lost Providence goes on sale. That’s Monday, August 28. In fact, it already can be pre-ordered. And, to revise and extend my book’s remarks (as they say in Congress), my publisher, History Press, and I are … Continue reading

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More Hayes on beauty

British Transport Minister John Hayes’s remarks about beauty and transit infrastructure were quoted on Tuesday in “Sic transit beautiful? Not!” It is brilliant, but I had intended to post instead the full text of “Hayes’s speech on beauty,” a different … Continue reading

Posted in Architecture, Art and design | Tagged , , , | 1 Comment

Victorian hotel evolution

With the grand history of train station hotel design no doubt cavorting in the back of his mind, British Transport Minister John Hayes argues in yesterday’s post “Sic beautiful transit? Not!” that Britons do not need to put up with … Continue reading

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Sic transit beautiful? Not!

The race is on to see whether British Prime Minister Theresa May or American President Donald Trump will win the bilateral infrastructure beauty sweepstakes. At least we know Britain has entered. May’s Transport Minister John Hayes recently gave a speech, … Continue reading

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Many more shots of Yale

My desire to post more photos of Yale’s expansion – two residential quads, Benjamin Franklin College and Pauli Murray College, designed by Robert A.M. Stern Architects – was answered yesterday by Phil Handler. He owns Fly on the Wall Productions, … Continue reading

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