Category Archives: Architecture

More Hayes on beauty

Posted on July 27, 2017 by David Brussat

British Transport Minister John Hayes’s remarks about beauty and transit infrastructure were quoted on Tuesday in “Sic transit beautiful? Not!” It is brilliant, but I had intended to post instead the full text of “Hayes’s speech on beauty,” a different … Continue reading →

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Victorian hotel evolution

Posted on July 26, 2017 by David Brussat

With the grand history of train station hotel design no doubt cavorting in the back of his mind, British Transport Minister John Hayes argues in yesterday’s post “Sic beautiful transit? Not!” that Britons do not need to put up with … Continue reading →

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Sic transit beautiful? Not!

Posted on July 25, 2017 by David Brussat

The race is on to see whether British Prime Minister Theresa May or American President Donald Trump will win the bilateral infrastructure beauty sweepstakes. At least we know Britain has entered. May’s Transport Minister John Hayes recently gave a speech, … Continue reading →

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Many more shots of Yale

Posted on July 24, 2017 by David Brussat

My desire to post more photos of Yale’s expansion – two residential quads, Benjamin Franklin College and Pauli Murray College, designed by Robert A.M. Stern Architects – was answered yesterday by Phil Handler. He owns Fly on the Wall Productions, … Continue reading →

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New Yale campus progress

Posted on July 22, 2017 by David Brussat

Gary Brewer has sent two photographs of the work to date on the two new residential colleges at Yale, Benjamin Franklin and Pauli Murray. They are exquisite, to quote Elizabeth Moule’s assessment in an email to the TradArch listserv. Also … Continue reading →

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Among ye olde Victorians

Posted on July 21, 2017 by David Brussat

Victorian architecture, seen as the architecture of the long reign of Queen Victoria, shows the absurdity of those who claim that Victorian styles fell out of favor during the 1950s and ’60s, as many observers attest, modernist and otherwise. My … Continue reading →

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

Monty Python on architects

Posted on July 20, 2017 by David Brussat

In September of 2014 I posted the famous Monty Python sketch on modern architecture as a reward, so I said at the time to readers of this blog, for those who managed to make it through my several prior posts. … Continue reading →

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Just one crane in Providence

Posted on July 15, 2017 by David Brussat

GoLocalProv.com has a story complaining about the paucity of cranes – not birds but rigs to lift heavy construction loads – in Providence compared with other cities. “Top 12 U.S. Crane Cities Have Nearly 300; Providence Has One” is the … Continue reading →

Posted in Architecture, Development, Preservation | Tagged , , , , , , , , | 4 Comments

R.I. State House at risk

Posted on July 13, 2017 by David Brussat

Rhode Island transportation officials want to spend millions in tax money to accomplish a goal achievable for mere thousands, and to do so in part on the State House Lawn. The Capital Center Commission, which has overseen the development district’s … Continue reading →

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A timeline of “authenticity”

Posted on July 11, 2017 by David Brussat

Authenticity must rank near the top of the list of dubious words. Authentic has been split from its original meaning and used to brush a patina of merit upon many dubious ideas. A good example is its use by the … Continue reading →

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