Category Archives: Architecture

Henry and ‘the Heterodox’

Posted on October 4, 2014 by David Brussat

Henry Hope Reed was such a perfectionist that his detractors, and perhaps even some of his friends, called him Henry Hopeless Reed. What he sought was too perfect, too unlikely ever to be built. Hopeless. Since classical architecture is the … Continue reading →

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Pedestrian pedestrian bridge

Posted on October 3, 2014 by David Brussat

A bridge project I’d hoped and prayed was dead has risen to become, for lack of more ambitious possibilities as yet, the likely first part of the Route 195 development project to move forward in Providence. The streets and utilities … Continue reading →

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

Fundamentally insecure

Posted on October 3, 2014 by David Brussat

After reading my blog post on the destruction of Mecca, Nikos Salingaros sent me Chapter 9 from his book A Theory of Architecture, in which, writing with Michael Mehaffy, he describes modern architecture as a phenomenon parallel to religious fundamentalism. … Continue reading →

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Kismet, but not in Mecca

Posted on October 2, 2014 by David Brussat

Kismet. A useful word. Taking a break yesterday from the authorship of a blog post on the destruction of Mecca by modern architecture, I went downstairs, made myself a peanut butter and jelly sandwich, and turned on the television. I … Continue reading →

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The destruction of Mecca

Posted on October 1, 2014 by David Brussat

Kudos to Erik Bootsma for posting this New York Times oped to the TradArch list. Written by Ziauddin Sardar, The Destruction of Mecca describes the transformation of Mecca, of all places, into a modernist hellhole – led not by Western … Continue reading →

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Steven Semes on Henry Reed

Posted on October 1, 2014 by David Brussat

Steven Semes, author of The Future of the Past and the newly appointed chairman of the new graduate preservation program at the architecture school of the University of Notre Dame, was supposed to speak at Saturday’s symposium honoring Henry Hope … Continue reading →

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Henry Reed’s Philadelphia II

Posted on September 30, 2014 by David Brussat

Here are more shots from Philadelphia, not all of which will be strictly to the taste of Henry Hope Reed, the honoree of a symposium held at the Franklin Inn Club there on Saturday. The photo above shows the late … Continue reading →

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Henry Reed’s Philadelphia

Posted on September 29, 2014 by David Brussat

Your far-flung correspondent was in Philadelphia (five-hour train ride) to attend, speak at and report on the Henry Hope Reed legacy symposium sponsored by the city’s chapter of the Institute of Classical Architecture & Art. It was a delightful and … Continue reading →

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Henry Reed in Providence

Posted on September 26, 2014 by David Brussat

Here, as part of this blog’s Blast from the Past feature, is a column from more than a decade ago when Henry Hope Reed visited Providence. The tourmaster got a tour from yours truly. Tomorrow, Philadelphia will host a symposium … Continue reading →

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Column: A Henry Hope Reed chrestomathy

Posted on September 25, 2014 by David Brussat

One of my favorite books is A Mencken Chrestomathy, H.L. Mencken’s own favorite essays by himself (a chrestomathy being a selection of choice literary passages, often intended to teach a language). Reading Mencken, who wrote for the Baltimore Sun in … Continue reading →

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