Category Archives: Architecture

Design a living planet

Posted on February 5, 2015 by David Brussat

One of the delights of blogging is the ability to insert a couple of paragraphs from what you’re reading as you go along. So here’s another set, on pages 144-45, from Design for a Living Planet, by Nikos Salingaros and … Continue reading →

Posted in Architecture, Architecture Education, Art and design, Urbanism and planning | Tagged , , , , , | Leave a comment

Architecture in the crosshairs

Posted on February 3, 2015 by David Brussat

Steve Hansen captures valuable territory in the recent Bingler, Pedersen, Betsky style-wars skirmish. His essay “Architecture Should Be Functional, Not Merely Daring,” is on the website Sourceable.com. But while Hansen puts some good wood upside Aaron Betsky’s head, he ignores … Continue reading →

Posted in Architecture, Architecture Education, Development | Tagged , , , , , | Leave a comment

Grr! Paul Rudolph cat fight

Posted on February 2, 2015 by David Brussat

Goshen, N.Y., is up in arms again as the city enters a new phase of combat over saving the Orange County Government Center (1967), designed by iconic modernist Paul Rudolph in the Brutalist style. Most of the public wants it … Continue reading →

Posted in Architecture, Architecture History, Development, Preservation | Tagged , , | Leave a comment

Modernism’s “Deflategate”

Posted on February 1, 2015 by David Brussat

The BBC documentary Vienna: City of Dreams is about as entirely marinated in modernism’s institutional bias as it is possible for a film of an hour and a half to be. And yet it is beautiful in spite of itself. … Continue reading →

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

Stewardship at Downton

Posted on February 1, 2015 by David Brussat

Steve Lawton sent to the Practice of New Urbanism list a few choice lines about recent scenes from Downton Abbey. He notes the care with which an aristocrat addresses the proposals of a developer, circa 1922 (I think), to build … Continue reading →

Posted in Architecture, Architecture History, Development, Preservation, Urbanism and planning | Tagged , , , , | 1 Comment

The Times eyes Charleston

Posted on January 30, 2015 by David Brussat

The ship of state is famously hard to turn. One oped criticizing modern architecture does not a candidate for membership in the Institute of Classical Architecture & Art make. The New York Times remains a stalwart of the establishment on … Continue reading →

Posted in Architecture, Architecture Education, Architecture History, Development, Preservation, Urbanism and planning | Tagged , , , | 4 Comments

Parsing fraud and timidity

Posted on January 29, 2015 by David Brussat

Two examples of modern architecture in deep perspiration came across my desk today. First came Robert Ivy‘s tremulous three minutes of AIA video advice – “Hello, everyone. This is Robert” – to rattled architects, and second came Norman Weinstein‘s fraudulent … Continue reading →

Posted in Architects, Architecture, Architecture Education, Architecture History | Tagged , , , , , | Leave a comment

The Mehaffy/Salingaros way

Posted on January 29, 2015 by David Brussat

Here is a set of related passages from my early reading in Design for a Living Planet: Settlement, Science and the Human Future, by Michael Mehaffy and Nikos Salingaros. I will offer a more comprehensive review when I’m done reading … Continue reading →

Posted in Architecture, Art and design, Books and Culture, Urbanism and planning | Tagged , , , , | Leave a comment

‘Legendary’ Moshe Safdie

Posted on January 28, 2015 by David Brussat

Actual text from the Boston Design Guide Blog: Legendary architect Moshe Safdie recently won the 2015 Gold Medal from the American Institute of Architects for his 85 amazing, awe-inspiring futuristic designs. If Moshe Safdie is a legend, then what does … Continue reading →

Posted in Architects, Architecture, Humor, Photography | Tagged , , , , , | 3 Comments

The landscapers’ gentility

Posted on January 27, 2015 by David Brussat

The American Society of Landscape Architects plans to turn its headquarters, on Eye Street in Washington, into a “world-class” Center for Landscape Architecture. Shudders ran up my spine as I saw the article that said so, by an anonymous contributor … Continue reading →

Posted in Architecture, Landscape Architecture, Urbanism and planning | Tagged , , , , , , | 3 Comments