Category Archives: Architecture History

The sad primacy of Unite

Posted on October 10, 2014 by David Brussat

Regarding the minimal-security affordable housing project in Harlem by David Adjaye, this morning I have received a trenchant email from Malcolm Millais, author of Exploding the Myths of Modern Architecture: How strange, by coincidence I saw this Horror in Harlem … Continue reading →

Posted in Architecture, Architecture History, Urbanism and planning | Tagged , , , | 2 Comments

Radiant Garden City Beautiful

Posted on October 5, 2014 by David Brussat

If wizards like Henry Hope Reed can be wrong on occasion, so can Jane Jacobs, who in our era is even more famous for her own pathbreaking book, The Death and Life of Great American Cities. Its chief claim to … Continue reading →

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

Henry and ‘the Heterodox’

Posted on October 4, 2014 by David Brussat

Henry Hope Reed was such a perfectionist that his detractors, and perhaps even some of his friends, called him Henry Hopeless Reed. What he sought was too perfect, too unlikely ever to be built. Hopeless. Since classical architecture is the … Continue reading →

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Kismet, but not in Mecca

Posted on October 2, 2014 by David Brussat

Kismet. A useful word. Taking a break yesterday from the authorship of a blog post on the destruction of Mecca by modern architecture, I went downstairs, made myself a peanut butter and jelly sandwich, and turned on the television. I … Continue reading →

Posted in Architecture, Architecture History, Other countries | Tagged , , , , , | 7 Comments

Henry Reed in Providence

Posted on September 26, 2014 by David Brussat

Here, as part of this blog’s Blast from the Past feature, is a column from more than a decade ago when Henry Hope Reed visited Providence. The tourmaster got a tour from yours truly. Tomorrow, Philadelphia will host a symposium … Continue reading →

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Column: A Henry Hope Reed chrestomathy

Posted on September 25, 2014 by David Brussat

One of my favorite books is A Mencken Chrestomathy, H.L. Mencken’s own favorite essays by himself (a chrestomathy being a selection of choice literary passages, often intended to teach a language). Reading Mencken, who wrote for the Baltimore Sun in … Continue reading →

Posted in Architecture, Architecture History, Art and design, Books and Culture | Tagged , , , , | 1 Comment

Hawthorne and architecture

Posted on September 22, 2014 by David Brussat

In his masterpiece (and my bible) The Golden City (1959), Henry Hope Reed cites a character, Holgrave, from Hawthorne’s House of Seven Gables, in describing early attitudes toward innovation in architecture. He has Holgrave, a daguerrotypist, say to his inamorata, … Continue reading →

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Column: Scotland back to its roots or nae

Posted on September 18, 2014 by David Brussat

Scottish voters decide today whether Scotland will be independent or continue its 307-year relationship with Great Britain. Whatever it decides – and the last polls were too close to call – its cultural hegemony over its own appearance will remain … Continue reading →

Posted in Architecture, Architecture Education, Architecture History, Art and design, Preservation | Tagged , , , , | 1 Comment

On the Brown campus

Posted on September 17, 2014 by David Brussat

This morning, an especially nice one, I happened after a meeting at the Wheeler School to wander through the campus of Brown University. I took some pictures. On top, however, is the main building on Hope Street at Wheeler. And … Continue reading →

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Corbusier in Providence?

Posted on September 15, 2014 by David Brussat

This building design was sent by the famous Andres Duany – whose firm, DPZ, helped JWU masterplan its downtown Providence campus between 1994 and 2005 – under the subject line “This could have been the Johnson & Wales building.” He … Continue reading →

Posted in Architecture, Architecture History, Development, Providence | Tagged , , , | 1 Comment