Category Archives: Humor

Don’t feed the hypotenuse!

Posted on November 15, 2014 by David Brussat

A Dagwood, the skyscaper of sandwiches, cannot be cut in half, however you slice it. But this intriguing piece, “Rectangles vs. Triangles: The Great Sandwich Debate,” from “All Things Considered” on NPR (with no author listed), slices and dices the … Continue reading →

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Mod church or Red crib?

Posted on November 13, 2014 by David Brussat

Hats off to my friend Bill Patenaude for sending this test of architectural erudition courtesy of ChurchPOP.com. Some you will know. Others will knock your block off.        

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Traditional or modernist?

Posted on October 31, 2014 by David Brussat

A reader has sent me an article called “Before and After: A Charred Wood Cottage on a $45k budget,” by Michelle Slatalla, from Issue 42 of the online journal Dark Shadows. My correspondent, who enjoys claiming that my usual modernist … Continue reading →

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A landscape urbanism primer

Posted on October 28, 2014 by David Brussat

Architect Marc Szarkowski, responding to news that the so-called landscape urbanists are helping to celebrate the 300th anniversary of the famous British gardener Lancelot “Capability” Brown (1716-1783), offers this chart on how to design a park from the landscape-urbanist perspective. … Continue reading →

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Xi a Chinese visionary?

Posted on October 21, 2014 by David Brussat

Far be it from me to agree with the head of the Chinese Communist Party on anything, but please excuse me for agreeing with Xi Jinping on one thing. Speaking to a literary symposium last week, the Chinese president said, … Continue reading →

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Separated at birth?

Posted on September 23, 2014 by David Brussat

Ludwig Mies van der Rohe and Norman Foster, separated at birth! Just look at them. Nose? Check. Eyes? Check? Chin? Check. A pair of suits with a yen to gesticulate. But on the other hand, maybe not. One was old … Continue reading →

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Villa Graffarta Savoye

Posted on September 17, 2014 by David Brussat

Without intending to pick on Le Corbusier (not that there’s anything wrong with that), artist Xavier Delory recently found the Villa Savoye in sad condition, even worse than in the photograph above, taken before his masterpiece in suburban Paris was … Continue reading →

Posted in Architecture, Humor, Preservation | Tagged , , | 6 Comments

World’s best sculpture

Posted on July 29, 2014 by David Brussat

No, the sculpture on display here is certainly not the best sculpture in the world, but it’s head and shoulders above most of what the artistic establishment considers the best – that is, twisted contortions of metal, symbols arrayed as … Continue reading →

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Mr. Wemmick’s castle

Posted on July 19, 2014 by David Brussat

Here’s a great passage from Great Expectations, where Pip is introduced to the household of his guardian’s clerk, Wemmick: Wemmick’s house was a little wooden cottage in the midst of plots of garden, and the top of it was cut … Continue reading →

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Federalism

Posted on July 17, 2014 by David Brussat

The New Federalism, circa 1960-70 – the best modernism the most (of your) money can buy. Photographed and compiled by Benny Johnson. This, by the way, is sheer Brutalism (a style of modernism). Here is a comment from Erik Bootsma, … Continue reading →

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