Category Archives: Architecture

I-195: Subdivide & conquer

Posted on September 14, 2016 by David Brussat

Joel VanderWeele, an architect at Union Studio in downtown Providence, has posted an excellent essay – “The I-195 Land: Subdivide & Conquer” – on the firm’s “unofficial blog.” It is about the development of the vacated Route 195 land on … Continue reading →

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Charles to the battlements

Posted on September 13, 2016 by David Brussat

With the new mayor of London applauding vigorously in the wings, Prince Charles mounted his steed again, taking on the modernists and challenging architects and developers to make new London neighborhoods with the joy and panache that made the old … Continue reading →

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Dupre’s 1 WTC on 9/11 15th

Posted on September 11, 2016 by David Brussat

Today is the 15th anniversary of 9/11. The nation has handled poorly both the rebuilding of Ground Zero and the memorialization of the attack, its victims, its brave first responders, and the nation’s anguish, which has barely abated, or so … Continue reading →

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Rethinking Homs’s future

Posted on September 6, 2016 by David Brussat

Last April, Roger Scruton wrote an essay on an architect in Syria who hopes to help plan her wrecked hometown’s future. I posted Scruton’s essay on my blog, titled “Scruton, Haussmann, Syria.” The reference to Haussmann, who is responsible for … Continue reading →

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Mixing work with pleasure

Posted on September 5, 2016 by David Brussat

It is Labor Day, so permit me to combine work with pleasure. What follows are lines from the experience of the bastard London bookbinder Hyacinth Robinson, who has just signed on to a vague role in a hazy future socialist … Continue reading →

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The saga of plaster casts

Posted on September 4, 2016 by David Brussat

Andrew Reed, nephew of the late, esteemed Henry Hope Reed, the nation’s first bare-knuckled (yet elegant and erudite) opponent of “the Modern,” has sent in some remarks regarding a story in the New York Times, “Move Over Marble: Plaster Gets … Continue reading →

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Krier on the people’s choice

Posted on September 2, 2016 by David Brussat

Leon Krier argues that people should be permitted to prefer architecture they like, and dismisses modernists who browbeat the public for the alleged ignorance it expresses in disliking their work. His latest piece in BD, Britain’s building design journal, is … Continue reading →

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J&W’s engineering error

Posted on September 1, 2016 by David Brussat

Johnson & Wales University is about to open up its new engineering facility, named for its chancellor, John Bowen. It will be the first building on land vacated by the relocation of Route 195 to the south of downtown. Providence … Continue reading →

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Decent guys as architects

Posted on August 31, 2016 by David Brussat

Rural Studio is an architectural outfit in Alabama that strives to produce houses for $20,000. The website Misfits’ Architecture posted on Rural Studio recently, listing the small, affordable houses by major firms and architects that cost more, often much, much … Continue reading →

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“Rear Window” trailer trash

Posted on August 30, 2016 by David Brussat

Here is a marvelous set of factoids from the website Mental Floss, called “12 Thrilling Facts about ‘Rear Window,” the 1954 movie starring Jimmy Stewart and Grace Kelly, who investigate a murder through his rear window. And I will assure … Continue reading →

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