Category Archives: Architecture

Holy crystal meth, Batman!

Posted on December 19, 2016 by David Brussat

News out of Pyongyang via Dezeen reports that its construction boom is fueled by crystal meth. A drug that jacks up levels of energy, alertness and self-esteem might well be usefully fed to workers undertaking delicate work with rivets while … Continue reading →

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Best skyscrapers 2016: Yawn

Posted on December 18, 2016 by David Brussat

No surprise here, but Dezeen has published a list of the ten best skyscrapers of 2016. I’ve chosen to spotlight the pyramidal monstrosity in New York City by Bjarke Ingels, the Danish architect and founder of the firm BIG. The … Continue reading →

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“Lost Prov” on the march

Posted on December 16, 2016 by David Brussat

To update readers on my upcoming book Lost Providence, I finished writing it at the beginning of November, a month after I delivered its 99 illustrations to the publisher, which is The History Press, headquartered in Charleston, S.C. My editor … Continue reading →

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

The Trumpster’s Roark

Posted on December 14, 2016 by David Brussat

It seems that Donald Trump and a host of his cabinet nominees are fans of the late Ayn Rand. Her philosophy of “objectivism” exalted the individual over the group. Her two best-selling novels are Atlas Shrugged and The Fountainhead. The … Continue reading →

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Music and architecture, cont.

Posted on December 13, 2016 by David Brussat

In October, Roger Scruton visited the belly of the musical beast, in Germany, to deliver a lecture against atonal composition. It was as if  the superhero of classical architecture, Henry Hope Reed, arose from his grave to address the celebrants … Continue reading →

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Hope Point Tower(s) sliced?

Posted on December 12, 2016 by David Brussat

Tonight at 5 the I-195 Redevelopment District Commission meets. On top of its agenda is a picture of the recently proposed Hope Point Towers project, missing two of its projected three high-rises. But the project itself is not on the … Continue reading →

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A visit to East Greenwich

Posted on December 10, 2016 by David Brussat

The other day I paid a brief visit to East Greenwich, one of Rhode Island’s most lovely towns. Main Street has long been a charming rendition of civic life, ever a pleasure to drive through or, better yet, stop and … Continue reading →

Posted in Architecture, Urbanism and planning | Tagged , , , , , , , | 4 Comments

Skopje’s classical ambition

Posted on December 8, 2016 by David Brussat

Architectural writers have had a field day criticizing Skopje for its classical makeover. Costly and often sloppy in the embellishment of Macedonia’s capital city, the new buildings feature a lot more enthusiasm than canonical scholarship. But the work is being … Continue reading →

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Charleston misunderstood

Posted on December 6, 2016 by David Brussat

Charleston’s modernist wannabes have placed their dream of more modern architecture in the hands of a blog called “Buildings Are Cool.” It is written in a breezy style by a young architect named Steve Ramos, who in a recent post … Continue reading →

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My explosive TB blog post

Posted on December 5, 2016 by David Brussat

My November blog post written for Traditional Building magazine was explosive, to say the least. It is about two buildings that blew up and a third building that bodes well to beautify its neighborhood by not blowing up its context. … Continue reading →

Posted in Architecture, Preservation | Tagged , , , , , | 1 Comment