Category Archives: Architecture

House of (52,000) Cards

Posted on July 1, 2015 by David Brussat

Here’s something from CBS Evening News involving architecture – a Harvard grad named Bryan Berg who builds houses of cards. He may not have (as he admits) a full deck but he certainly uses more than one of them to … Continue reading →

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Costly design in Pyongyang

Posted on July 1, 2015 by David Brussat

It appears that the architect of Terminal 2 of North Korea’s international airport, Ma Won Chun, was executed because the Dear Leader failed to appreciate the design. This according to “Kim Jong Un EXECUTES airport architect because he did not … Continue reading →

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Helsinki Gugg goes glug glug

Posted on June 29, 2015 by David Brussat

After all that jumping up and down, with 1,715 entries from around the world, the competition to design Guggenheim Helsinki has coughed up a winner, by Paris-based Moreau Kusunoki Architectes, of decidedly modest design, “an indistinct jumble of pavilions faced … Continue reading →

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Ugly Belgian House blog!

Posted on June 28, 2015 by David Brussat

I just spent some good quality time with the Ugly Belgian Houses blog. Its originator, who self-identifies only as “@hannes_BHC,” has only this to say to explain the blog: “Because most Belgian houses suck. Even mine. Seriously. My English sucks … Continue reading →

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A Pritzker for Graves?

Posted on June 27, 2015 by David Brussat

A curious piece in ArchDaily.com wonders “Why Michael Graves Should Have Won the Pritzker.” After reading it I felt so whipsawed back and forth that I had to read it again to see if it really said what I thought … Continue reading →

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Klaustoon: Pimp my Warsaw

Posted on June 27, 2015 by David Brussat

It looks like Warsaw, which during Poland’s communist era restored the beauty of central Warsaw after the wreckage left by the Nazis, is selling itself the rope with which to hang itself. Is this what Poland jettisoned communism for? At … Continue reading →

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“Now that’s resiliency!”

Posted on June 25, 2015 by David Brussat

Michael Mehaffy, an architectural theorist from Portland, Ore., who often collaborates with mathematician and fellow theorist Nikos Salingaros on treatises combining issues of design with those of science, has sent a lovely photograph he just snapped yesterday of the tallest … Continue reading →

Posted in Architecture, Architecture History, Art and design, Other countries, Photography, Preservation | Tagged , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

Newport and its discontents

Posted on June 25, 2015 by David Brussat

The Providence Journal has published an AP story called “Spat over Newport’s Vanderbilt family mansion, The Breakers, gets public and nasty.” The story concerns a proposed welcome center at The Breakers, but is really about how the Preservation Society of … Continue reading →

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How to make cities better

Posted on June 25, 2015 by David Brussat

I spent the early morning hours today wondering what I could do to make cities more beautiful. Then I got up, went to my computer, and found this marvelous video of 14 minutes, “How to Make an Attractive City,” made, … Continue reading →

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Shots of China, Bhutan

Posted on June 24, 2015 by David Brussat

Monday I was invited for a sail out of the Bristol Yacht Club with Michael Gerhardt, recently the temporary director of the Providence Athenaeum, and his friend Ken Gaus. The day was lovely and the wind was low – at … Continue reading →

Posted in Architecture, Architecture History, Books and Culture, Landscape Architecture, Other countries, Photography, Urbanism and planning | Tagged , , , , , , | 1 Comment