Category Archives: Architecture

9/11: Peering into the abyss

Posted on September 13, 2021 by David Brussat

My last post quoted briefly my Oct. 4, 2001, column in the Providence Journal called “Peering into the towering abyss,” but the link seems to take readers to a sign-up sheet for the Journal archives instead of the text of … Continue reading →

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9/11 revisited, 20 years on

Posted on September 11, 2021 by David Brussat

I saw 9/11 as it was happening on a TV screen through one of the large windows of URI’s Providence campus (the Shepard Building) facing Union Street. I was on my way to work at the Journal – two blocks … Continue reading →

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Telosa: The next BIG thing

Posted on September 8, 2021 by David Brussat

Men have sought to establish utopias for centuries in the mind and even on land. Plato posited his “Republic” long before Sir Thomas More coined “utopia,” but More considered his Utopia (1516) a satire. The founders of successive attempts at … Continue reading →

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WaterFire back in Providence

Posted on September 5, 2021 by David Brussat

Providence has gone two years, since the fall of 2019, without WaterFire, the capital city’s signature work of art, a blessing to citizens of Rhode Island and visitors from much farther afield since 1994. It is the event’s usual crowds … Continue reading →

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Tall buildings all fall down

Posted on August 30, 2021 by David Brussat

Is there something off-kilter about the photo above from a video sent to me yesterday by architectural theorist Nikos Salingaros? Yes, there is. At first I thought it was a video of Pruitt-Igoe, the St. Louis public housing project, all … Continue reading →

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Landscape urbanism revisited

Posted on August 25, 2021 by David Brussat

*** Not long ago, in response to my post “Steuteville’s public square,” a pile of emails and comments was generated by my query as to whether something called landscape urbanism still exists. One email called for another look at its … Continue reading →

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Penn Station post Cuomo

Posted on August 17, 2021 by David Brussat

Andrew Cuomo’s resignation, effective in one week, could provide an opening to rebuild Penn Station as designed by architects McKim Mead & White in 1910. Is the next governor, Lt. Gov. Kathy Hochul, of a mind to support the plan? … Continue reading →

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Entitling Historical Concepts

Posted on August 13, 2021 by David Brussat

Most architectural firms have names listing one or more partners, McKim Mead & White being a chief example familiar to classicists. In recent times some firms have chosen names seemingly designed to impress you with their creativity, such as SHoP … Continue reading →

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Liverpool loses heritage status

Posted on August 8, 2021 by David Brussat

Seventeen years after its bestowal, Liverpool has lost its status as world heritage site by an act of Unesco, the United Nations’ chief cultural agency. Sixteen years ago, in June 2005, I attended a symposium at RISD, which had partnered … Continue reading →

Posted in Architecture, Preservation | Tagged , , , , , | 2 Comments

Cleveland, fair and square

Posted on August 3, 2021 by David Brussat

My first visit to Cleveland revealed a city rich in history and in historical architecture, far beyond what I had expected. The downtown and beyond feature many more large, old, lovely buildings than Providence. For me and perhaps for readers … Continue reading →

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