Category Archives: Architecture History

Past blast: Lost house found

Posted on March 25, 2014 by David Brussat

Here, a blast from the past to whet readers’ whistles for my upcoming column listing the best lost buildings in downtown Providence. This, however, is about a lost house on College Hill, whose ghost I lived next to for six … Continue reading →

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Upcoming classical architecture dates

Posted on March 24, 2014 by David Brussat

Here, briefly, are a number of upcoming events sponsored (or not) by the Institute of Classical Architecture & Art. Details and registration, where applicable, are here. Wednesday, March 26 – The inaugural Boston Design Week, beginning the 20th, features a panel … Continue reading →

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L’Abattoir d’unité!

Posted on March 24, 2014 by David Brussat

Malcolm Millais, author of Exploding the Myths of Modern Architecture (2009), has some interesting comments picking up on the skit by Monty Python posted Saturday: Although mainly about Freemasonry, in the skit the John Cleese architect designs an abattoir instead of an office block. … Continue reading →

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Sad, glorious history of the Fogg

Posted on March 22, 2014 by David Brussat

Here, before I unveil a bit of the sad Fogg history, is an intriguing comment from Eric Daum, whose lengthy and erudite essay on the Gloria Dei Swedish Evangelical Church, in Providence, graced this blog several weeks ago: I love … Continue reading →

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Shoe slips on other foot

Posted on March 21, 2014 by David Brussat

Michael Rouchell sends to TradArch a wonderful sketch of the new addition to the Villa Savoye, Le Corbusier’s pathbreaking modernist house of 1931 in suburban Paris. As intended, the addition raises interesting questions. Modernists are wary of additions to their work in … Continue reading →

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Column: The secret to making great streets

Posted on March 20, 2014 by David Brussat

The secret to great streets is that there is no secret, that great streets were once the norm, that making them is easy, and that we can have them again, even in America, if we want them. This is the … Continue reading →

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Two to watch in Providence

Posted on March 17, 2014 by David Brussat

While some people in Providence are upset that the owner of a big house at 200 Hope Street, by Russell Warren, across from the Wheeler School, is to be broken up into apartments, and with no intent to alter the … Continue reading →

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Column: The easy way to build on R.I.’s assets

Posted on March 13, 2014 by David Brussat

Almost all cities and states have policies intended to strengthen their economies by building on their assets. Most fail because they reject easy strategies and embrace difficult strategies. Two recent Commentary pieces in The Providence Journal address this issue: “Wise … Continue reading →

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Holl the Horrible

Posted on March 10, 2014 by David Brussat

After describing as “tripe” Hugh Pearman’s piece on Steven Holl’s Seona Reid Building, part of and across the street from the Glasgow School of Art, I feel obliged to say why, as if it were not obvious. The building is not the … Continue reading →

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Hollible, just hollible

Posted on March 9, 2014 by David Brussat

Steven Holl’s addition to the Glasgow School of Art, whose 1909 original by the Scottish architect Charles Rennie Mackintosh is an icon of architects of every school, expresses the most profound disrespect for its neighbor. It eats one building and … Continue reading →

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