Category Archives: Other countries

God’s eye on Burj Dubai?

Posted on November 14, 2014 by David Brussat

Above is a photograph, unadulterated I assume, from one of those emails with long strings of beautiful, adorable, humorous, salacious or otherwise remarkable photos, usually unattributed to any photographer. At least I can thank Leon “Big Lee” Juskalian for sending … 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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More Zaha stadium flap

Posted on November 10, 2014 by David Brussat

Please don’t misinterpret these remarks as in any sense a defense of Zaha Hadid. Her proposed 2020 Olympic stadium in Tokyo has been mired in controversy and budget cuts, and  now one of Japan’s leading architects, Arato Isozaki, has sent … Continue reading →

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Trench of blood and poppies

Posted on November 8, 2014 by David Brussat

Among the most moving, impressive and beautiful temporary memorials in recent years is the flood of blood poppies in the moat around the Tower of London. Conceived by artist Peter Cummins to honor the sacrifice of Britons who died in … Continue reading →

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Intruder at Gugg party

Posted on November 3, 2014 by David Brussat

On Halloween I posted a link to all 1,700-plus entries, from 77 nations, in the international design competition for a proposed Guggenheim Museum in Helsinki. I scanned reams of thumbnails, hoping to find among them one that struck me as … Continue reading →

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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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Bowling trophy architecture

Posted on October 29, 2014 by David Brussat

Read “Top Seven Reasons Behind the Shanghaiing of New York (#Dubai-on-Hudson),” architect and urban designer John Massengale’s astute analysis of the linkage between Big Finance and Big Architecture. His assessment is depressing, because it looks impregnable. He uses an illustration … Continue reading →

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Potemkin justice for Russia?

Posted on October 29, 2014 by David Brussat

Far be it from me to endorse anything proposed by the regime of Vladimir Putin, but permit me to embrace the classical judicial complex to be built in St. Petersburg. As the blogger Andrew Cusack points out, the Russian architect … 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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The new brand of France!

Posted on October 18, 2014 by David Brussat

Above is Frank Gehry laughing all the way to the bank. His latest paean to his genius sits in the background, which happens to be the Bois de Boulogne, the vast park at the western edge of central Paris. Soon … Continue reading →

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