Category Archives: Art and design

The independence of music

Posted on July 5, 2015 by David Brussat

Not long ago, a few soft bars into Ravel’s Bolero, conductor Larry Rachleff of the Rhode Island Philharmonic, presiding at Veterans Memorial Auditorium – in the shadow of the Rhode Island State House designed by Charles Follen McKim – stopped … Continue reading →

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Monopoly, Hasbro, P’tucket

Posted on July 3, 2015 by David Brussat

Now that the film Monopoly has been announced by the game’s owner, Hasbro, headquartered in Pawtucket, R.I., one can imagine where it might be shot. Of course, the street names that make up the most memorable aspect of the game … Continue reading →

Posted in Architecture, Art and design, Book/Film Reviews, Humor, Rhode Island, Urbanism and planning | Tagged , , , , , , , , , | 3 Comments

Love, beauty, architecture

Posted on July 2, 2015 by David Brussat

Steve Mouzon, an architect in Miami, has been the strongest advocate for years of lovability in architecture. He correctly sees lovability is a crucial factor in the creation of a living environment, and in assuring that people care for it … Continue reading →

Posted in Architects, Architecture Education, Art and design | Tagged , , , , , | 2 Comments

House of (52,000) Cards

Posted on July 1, 2015 by David Brussat

Here’s something from CBS Evening News involving architecture – a Harvard grad named Bryan Berg who builds houses of cards. He may not have (as he admits) a full deck but he certainly uses more than one of them to … Continue reading →

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Costly design in Pyongyang

Posted on July 1, 2015 by David Brussat

It appears that the architect of Terminal 2 of North Korea’s international airport, Ma Won Chun, was executed because the Dear Leader failed to appreciate the design. This according to “Kim Jong Un EXECUTES airport architect because he did not … Continue reading →

Posted in Architects, Architecture, Architecture Education, Art and design, Development, Humor | Tagged , , , , , , , , | 6 Comments

Cellini: Pearls before duchess

Posted on June 30, 2015 by David Brussat

In the Autobiography of Benvenuto Cellini (1500-1572) he discusses fighting and money a lot. Designing the settings for jewelry – his craft as a goldsmith and sometime sculptor – is the topic to which, after fighting and money, he has … Continue reading →

Posted in Art and design, Books and Culture, Humor, Other countries | Tagged , , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

Helsinki Gugg goes glug glug

Posted on June 29, 2015 by David Brussat

After all that jumping up and down, with 1,715 entries from around the world, the competition to design Guggenheim Helsinki has coughed up a winner, by Paris-based Moreau Kusunoki Architectes, of decidedly modest design, “an indistinct jumble of pavilions faced … Continue reading →

Posted in Architects, Architecture, Art and design, Development, Other countries, Urbanism and planning | Tagged , , , , | 4 Comments

A Pritzker for Graves?

Posted on June 27, 2015 by David Brussat

A curious piece in ArchDaily.com wonders “Why Michael Graves Should Have Won the Pritzker.” After reading it I felt so whipsawed back and forth that I had to read it again to see if it really said what I thought … Continue reading →

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“Now that’s resiliency!”

Posted on June 25, 2015 by David Brussat

Michael Mehaffy, an architectural theorist from Portland, Ore., who often collaborates with mathematician and fellow theorist Nikos Salingaros on treatises combining issues of design with those of science, has sent a lovely photograph he just snapped yesterday of the tallest … Continue reading →

Posted in Architecture, Architecture History, Art and design, Other countries, Photography, Preservation | Tagged , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

How to make cities better

Posted on June 25, 2015 by David Brussat

I spent the early morning hours today wondering what I could do to make cities more beautiful. Then I got up, went to my computer, and found this marvelous video of 14 minutes, “How to Make an Attractive City,” made, … Continue reading →

Posted in Architecture, Architecture History, Art and design, Development, Urbanism and planning, Video | Tagged , , , , , , | 3 Comments