Category Archives: Architecture History

Archives saved in Glasgow

Posted on May 24, 2014 by David Brussat

It was a tremendous relief to learn that among the treasures saved from fire at the Glasgow School of Art, designed by Charles Rennie Mackintosh and completed in 1907, was the school’s famous archives, which contained the third largest collection … Continue reading →

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Iron, glass, Mackintosh

Posted on May 24, 2014 by David Brussat

From an untitled 1892 lecture by Charles Rennie Mackintosh: These two comparatively modern materials iron & glass though eminently suitable for many purposes will never worthily take the place of stone, because of this defect the want of mass. With … Continue reading →

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Sad. Sad. Sad.

Posted on May 23, 2014 by David Brussat

Indications are that after the horrible fire today in Scotland, the Glasgow School of Art’s famous Rennie Mackintosh Building has survived, with, as fire officials put it, 90 percent of the building structure considered “viable” and 70 percent of the … Continue reading →

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Morgan, Pevsner, Vermont

Posted on May 17, 2014 by David Brussat

I have had the pleasure, just now, of running into my old friend William Morgan in my new friend Kristen Richards’s ArchNewsNow, the daily global roundhouse for architectural news and commentary (in English). On Kristen’s list for Friday I find … Continue reading →

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Foster atrocity in N.Y.

Posted on May 15, 2014 by David Brussat

My recent post about architectural details in Manhattan opened with a shot of the statuary on the base of a building erected 80 years before the tower itself was added eight years ago. (You can see it way down the street at the lower right of … Continue reading →

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Annoyer of Pennoyer

Posted on May 9, 2014 by David Brussat

Some classicists are up in arms over an interview with Peter Pennoyer by Nikolai Fedak on the web site YIMBY – Yes In My Back Yard, as opposed, I suppose, to NIMBY. But I don’t think Fedak phrased his questions … Continue reading →

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My upcoming Jane’s Walk

Posted on April 27, 2014 by David Brussat

My first Jane’s Walk, one of seven in Providence May 2-4, takes place this coming Saturday. It is free and open to the public. Jane’s Walk is an annual global city touring festival in which citizens volunteer to guide tours … Continue reading →

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Parthenon’s “Deep Frieze”

Posted on April 25, 2014 by David Brussat

Daniel Mendelsohn’s essay about the Parthenon (and what the Parthenon “means”) in the April 14 issue of The New Yorker made a deft grab for my heart. Ever since I demonstrated my ability, in grade school, to sit and listen … Continue reading →

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Philip Johnson’s Nazi decade

Posted on April 23, 2014 by David Brussat

Here is a brave piece by Matt Novak for the Paleofuture page of Gizmodo, reprinted at Archinect. It is about the designer of two buildings on the campus of Brown University, in Providence: the Albert and Vera List Art Building … Continue reading →

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Column: Dr. Downtown’s stroll with Dr. Street

Posted on April 17, 2014 by David Brussat

Dear Dr. Downtown: Please tell us about your “walkabout” last weekend with the author of Street Design: The Secret to Great Cities and Towns — Strolling in Stratford. Well, the doctor thought that Dr. Street (aka John Massengale, New York … Continue reading →

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