Category Archives: Art and design

Dame Zaha, rest in peace

Posted on March 31, 2016 by David Brussat

I have had many bad things to say about the architect Zaha Hadid, but she did not deserve to die this young. Her architecture inspired her colleagues around the world, and she was a model for rising female architects. Zaha … Continue reading →

Posted in Architects, Architecture, Architecture Education, Architecture History, Art and design, Development, Other countries, Urbanism and planning | Tagged , , , , , , , , | 3 Comments

Peter Thornton’s Providence

Posted on March 30, 2016 by David Brussat

Tomorrow evening at City Hall, some of the buildings of Providence that I love and have photographed over the years will be on display as buildings loved and painted by the artist Peter Thornton of our fair city. His show … Continue reading →

Posted in Architecture, Architecture History, Art and design, Landscape Architecture, Photography, Providence, Urbanism and planning | Tagged , , , , , , , , | 4 Comments

R.I. “Cooler & Warmer,” eh?

Posted on March 29, 2016 by David Brussat

The Ocean State’s new slogan, just announced today, is “Rhode Island: Cooler & Warmer.” What does it mean? Is it about our temperature? Our climate? Is it about the waters of our Narragansett Bay? Is it about how our economy … Continue reading →

Posted in Art and design, Development, Humor, Providence, Rhode Island | Tagged , , , , , , , , | 14 Comments

And these are the winners!

Posted on March 29, 2016 by David Brussat

Winners have been announced in the 2016 eVolo magazine skyscraper design competition, and they are real doozies. eVolo, which I’d never heard of, exists to discuss “the most avant-garde ideas generated in schools and professional studios around the world,” and … Continue reading →

Posted in Architects, Architecture, Architecture Education, Architecture History, Art and design, Development, Humor, Landscape Architecture, Urbanism and planning | Tagged , , , , , , | 5 Comments

Steampunk vid of New York

Posted on March 28, 2016 by David Brussat

Came across this film, “The Old New World,” of New York and bits of Boston and Washington, D.C. (the Capitol), in about 1931, on the Kuriositas website. It is the Old New World Project run by Alexey Zakharoff. It is … Continue reading →

Posted in Architecture, Architecture History, Art and design, Blast from past, Old Video, Photography, Urbanism and planning, Video | Tagged , , , , , | 3 Comments

Sadness etched in stone

Posted on March 26, 2016 by David Brussat

The sculptures linked here as “15 utterly incomparable sculptures of the past and present” may or may not be utterly incomparable but are unutterably beautiful, some perhaps more fervently so than others. Most or maybe all evoke sadness, melancholy or … Continue reading →

Posted in Art and design, Photography | Tagged , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

Brussels under dark skies

Posted on March 23, 2016 by David Brussat

The world stands with Brussels now that it has come under the ire of ISIS. The beauty of Brussels makes it a prime target for terrorist uglies. I have been to Bruges but not to Brussels. The elegance of the … Continue reading →

Posted in Architecture, Architecture History, Art and design, Photography, Preservation, Urbanism and planning | Tagged , , , , , , | 1 Comment

Long shots of Providence

Posted on March 21, 2016 by David Brussat

Everyone’s filling out their wuddayacallits, the basketball thingies. President Obama did it. Well, Providence is hosting the regional NCAA semifinals, or did so this past weekend, whatever. I’m not sure how the Friars made out, but here are some even … Continue reading →

Posted in Architecture, Architecture History, Art and design, Landscape Architecture, Photography, Preservation, Providence, Rhode Island, Urbanism and planning | Tagged , , , , , , , , , | 3 Comments

Silence for S.W. Pavilion

Posted on March 21, 2016 by David Brussat

For about an hour tomorrow afternoon may be spent in silence for a good cause – sitting mute at a meeting to save the Southwest Pavilion. This is the oldest survivor from the day when Rhode Island Hospital looked like … Continue reading →

Posted in Architecture, Architecture History, Art and design, Development, Preservation, Providence, Urbanism and planning | Tagged , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Mehaffy on why we rebuild

Posted on March 20, 2016 by David Brussat

A retrograde opinion by a thinker of apparently native good sense can generate a cavalcade of truths from another thinker in response. Thus we have Michael Mehaffy’s response to Duo Dickinson’s curious “Sprinting to the Past,” against the idea of … Continue reading →

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