Category Archives: Architects

The reactionary avant-garde

Posted on April 20, 2016 by David Brussat

The epitome of a contradiction in terms, the idea of a reactionary avant-garde is a most appropriate description of what the theorist Nikos Salingaros calls the “cult” of modern architecture. Charles Siegel uses the term in the title of his … Continue reading →

Posted in Architects, Architecture, Architecture Education, Architecture History, Art and design, Book/Film Reviews, Development, Preservation, Urbanism and planning | Tagged , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

Your brain on architecture

Posted on April 19, 2016 by David Brussat

Here’s another scientific study about architecture. Look through the methodology and your eyeballs may roll furiously at its conclusion that “contemplative” buildings cause contemplative activity in the brain. Showing pictures of such buildings (old and new) to a dozen architects … Continue reading →

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Shubow speaks this Saturday

Posted on April 18, 2016 by David Brussat

Reminder: Still possible to hear Justin Shubow’s lecture in Boston this Saturday. Justin Shubow, president of the National Civic Art Society and a leading proponent of classical architecture, is also a leading opponent of modern architecture. He and his organization, … Continue reading →

Posted in Architects, Architecture, Architecture Education, Architecture History, Art and design, Development, Preservation, Urbanism and planning | Tagged , , , , , | Leave a comment

Techno-narcissist Kunstler’d

Posted on April 17, 2016 by David Brussat

James Howard Kunstler’s latest Eyesore of the Month, which I reprint from his blog Clusterfuck Nation, had to be the winner of this year’s ridiculous eVolo Magazine architecture contest. And so it was. Only the ugliest and the stupidest entries … Continue reading →

Posted in Architects, Architecture, Development, Humor, Landscape Architecture | Tagged , , , , , , | 6 Comments

Beauty and the bore

Posted on April 14, 2016 by David Brussat

Several people have sent me “The Psychological Cost of Boring Buildings,” by Jacoba Urist in New York Magazine. The title hooked me, of course, but her essay hardly went down like an oyster. First, I am distrustful of “studies,” especially … Continue reading →

Posted in Architects, Architecture, Architecture Education, Architecture History, Art and design, Development, Preservation, Urbanism and planning | Tagged , , , , , , , , , | 5 Comments

The politics of preservation

Posted on April 11, 2016 by David Brussat

Gail Wiesner is a real-estate agent in Raleigh, N.C., who, a couple years ago, raised concerns about a modernist addition to a neighbor’s house in her Oakwood neighborhood, a designated historic district. A more recent example, now resolved in court, … Continue reading →

Posted in Architects, Architecture, Architecture Education, Architecture History, Art and design, Development, Preservation, Providence, Rhode Island, Urbanism and planning | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

John King, read your words!

Posted on April 10, 2016 by David Brussat

John King is the architecture critic for the San Francisco Chronicle. I met him maybe a decade ago at a conference and have followed his criticism since. This latest piece, “SF skyline’s new LinkedIn addition built by, for New Yorkers,” … Continue reading →

Posted in Architects, Architecture, Architecture Education, Architecture History, Art and design, Development, Urbanism and planning | Tagged , , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

Shubow to speak in Boston

Posted on April 9, 2016 by David Brussat

Justin Shubow, president of the National Civic Art Society and a leading proponent of classical architecture, is also a leading opponent of modern architecture. He and his organization, along with the Eisenhower family, have led the fight against Frank Gehry’s … Continue reading →

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Ross Award laureates, 2016

Posted on April 6, 2016 by David Brussat

This year’s winners of the Arthur Ross Awards have been announced by their sponsor, the Institute of Classical Architecture & Art. The institute is the leading organization in the United States fostering classical and traditional architecture and its allied arts: … Continue reading →

Posted in Architects, Architecture, Architecture Education, Architecture History, Art and design, Books and Culture, Development, Interior Design, Landscape Architecture, Other countries, Photography, Preservation, Urbanism and planning | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Dame Zaha, rest in peace

Posted on March 31, 2016 by David Brussat

I have had many bad things to say about the architect Zaha Hadid, but she did not deserve to die this young. Her architecture inspired her colleagues around the world, and she was a model for rising female architects. Zaha … Continue reading →

Posted in Architects, Architecture, Architecture Education, Architecture History, Art and design, Development, Other countries, Urbanism and planning | Tagged , , , , , , , , | 3 Comments