Category Archives: Architecture

The cat and the bunny

Posted on July 10, 2017 by David Brussat

I shot this brief video earlier today in a state of astonishment. I had just returned home and saw our cat, Gato, sitting out on our front stoop with a strange bunny. They sat as I approached. I hoped to … Continue reading →

Posted in Architecture, Humor, Video | Tagged , , , , , , | 14 Comments

Hamburg in the crosshairs

Posted on July 9, 2017 by David Brussat

The annual G20 conference of the world’s major economies met in Hamburg last week, with leaders convening in palaces and demonstrators rioting in the streets. It brought to mind the cheerful violence that greeted me and my brother, Tony, on … Continue reading →

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

Tom Low’s village progress

Posted on July 8, 2017 by David Brussat

Last February and before that, in December, I posted “Is this possible anymore?” and “Christmas card community” about village architecture. Both mentioned architect Tom Low’s plan for a village near Asheville, N.C.  At the time, the pocket neighborhood he had … Continue reading →

Posted in Architecture, Development | Tagged , , , , , , , , , | 6 Comments

Duo vs. the “style wars”

Posted on July 6, 2017 by David Brussat

Architect and commentator Duo Dickinson spends nine-tenths of his essay “Does the New Traditionalism Have a Point?,” on the website Common|Edge, describing new traditional architecture as if it were a recent novelty, a niche phenomenon worthy of a look but … Continue reading →

Posted in Architecture | Tagged , , , , , , , , | 10 Comments

Changing cities in China

Posted on July 5, 2017 by David Brussat

Over a half century or so, China has changed from a largely rural to a largely urban country. The communists had brutal power and used it brutally, a sort of cultural revolution without the violence. China went from cities of … Continue reading →

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

Beauty, nature or nurture?

Posted on July 4, 2017 by David Brussat

I often repeat the idea that our love for beauty – and for architecture whose ornament stimulates that love – arises from our prehistoric neurobiology. Primitive man on the savannah needed to be aware of details revealing dangers to be … Continue reading →

Posted in Architecture, Books and Culture | Tagged , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

My Milton Grenfell payback

Posted on July 3, 2017 by David Brussat

Strolling through the blogs of Traditional Building magazine’s website, I came across an article by Gordon Bock from two years ago about Milton Grenfell, a Washington, D.C., architect who designs classical buildings. Now, Milton Grenfell holds a lofty place in … Continue reading →

Posted in Architects, Architecture | Tagged , , , , , | 4 Comments

Dirty truths of modernism

Posted on July 2, 2017 by David Brussat

Sometimes truth comes out of the mouths of babes. Other times it comes out of the mouths of potty. That does not make it any less true, and since truth on any topic is a rare commodity, Paul Joseph Watson’s … Continue reading →

Posted in Architecture, Video | Tagged , , , , , , , | 12 Comments

“Lost Providence” update

Posted on July 1, 2017 by David Brussat

Yesterday, the author’s allotment of five (5) free copies of his book arrived at his happy household in Providence. Today, I started reading it to my wife, and when it goes on sale this August 28 I will start hectoring … Continue reading →

Posted in Architecture, Books and Culture | Tagged , , , , | 8 Comments

News for preservationists

Posted on June 28, 2017 by David Brussat

The author of one of my bibles, The Future of the Past, is Steven Semes, the Notre Dame scholar whose thinking pops up on this blog a lot. In 2014, he was named chairman of the new graduate program in … Continue reading →

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