Category Archives: Development

Haussmanhattan Paris

Posted on December 21, 2015 by David Brussat

The architectural historian and urbanist John Massengale, author of Street Design, sent to TradArch a most provocative email, with a photograph of the Municipal Building of New York City superimposed on a photo of the district of central Paris near … Continue reading →

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

Respite for an old hospital?

Posted on December 19, 2015 by David Brussat

Providence’s City Plan Commission voted unanimously last week to reject Rhode Island Hospital’s plan to demolish the oldest remaining structure on the hospital campus, its Southwest Pavilion. That’s not the end of the story, unfortunately; the hospital (owned by the Lifespan … Continue reading →

Posted in Architects, Architecture, Architecture History, Development, Preservation, Providence, Urbanism and planning | Tagged , , , , , , | 1 Comment

Flashmob lasers supertalls?

Posted on December 19, 2015 by David Brussat

The rise of supertallsuperthins in Manhattan has driven upward the angst over skyscrapers, but who has given much thought to what it might be like to live in one – if anyone actually does. I see a run on the … Continue reading →

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Blackstone rebuffs bumps

Posted on December 18, 2015 by David Brussat

Joan Slafsky sent me word this morning of a response by the city to the neighborhood’s expression of unified dismay at its plan to put speed bumps on Blackstone Boulevard. Here is part of the city’s letter: The City Traffic … Continue reading →

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Update on Parcel 12 hotel

Posted on December 16, 2015 by David Brussat

The civic leadership of Rhode Island and its capital, Providence, is using taxpayer dollars to initiate a series of development projects that may or may not be economically viable but will certainly undermine the city’s beauty – one of the … Continue reading →

Posted in Architects, Architecture, Architecture Education, Architecture History, Art and design, Development, Providence, Rhode Island, Urbanism and planning | Tagged , , , , , , , | 9 Comments

Brown attacks College Hill

Posted on December 13, 2015 by David Brussat

Four excellent old houses disappeared, poof!, from the Brown campus in recent weeks. In “New campus for Brown engineering?” I protested their proposed demise in a column in 2014. Now the design for what is to replace them has been … Continue reading →

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London’s fate, black & white

Posted on December 9, 2015 by David Brussat

The British photographer Lewis Bush, using the technique of double-exposure, has been shooting scenes of highrise construction in London that might (at his suggestion) bring to mind the eternal night of scenes from the film Blade Runner. He describes his … Continue reading →

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A pause in Pawtucket

Posted on December 8, 2015 by David Brussat

Last weekend we visited a lamp manufacturer who was having a sale on Victoria’s favorite lamps, by Tracy Glover. We then did the Foundry Sale at the Pawtucket Armory, next to Tolman High School. Both Tolman and the Armory inhabit … Continue reading →

Posted in Architecture, Architecture Education, Architecture History, Art and design, Development, Photography, Rhode Island, Urbanism and planning | Tagged , , , , , | Leave a comment

Copyright your building!

Posted on December 6, 2015 by David Brussat

A piece by Amelia Stein in the Guardian, “Does architecture need to be original,” raises some fascinating questions. She covered a symposium in New York that considered how the Architectural Works Copyright Protection Act – a 1990 amendment to U.S. … Continue reading →

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Who’ll stop Branson hotel?

Posted on December 5, 2015 by David Brussat

David Rau sent this nice photograph to the TradArch list in an email titled “Paris in New York.” He writes: A string of Second Empire buildings along Broadway in the 20s. At center is the Ace Hotel (interiors by Roman … Continue reading →

Posted in Architecture, Architecture History, Art and design, Development, Preservation, Urbanism and planning | Tagged , , , , , | 7 Comments