Category Archives: Other countries

Into London’s age of grit

Posted on October 24, 2015 by David Brussat

It suddenly occurred to me that, having done a post on the beautiful Renaissance digital imagery of the video game “Assassin’s Creed II” – it was called “Gaming the Renaissance” – I should check out “Assassin’s Creed I.” I just … Continue reading →

Posted in Architecture, Architecture History, Blast from past, Book/Film Reviews, Other countries, Urbanism and planning, Video | Tagged , , , , , , | 1 Comment

Monsters at gates of Paris

Posted on October 2, 2015 by David Brussat

A riveting photo essay about public housing primarily for immigrants to France, based on an exhibit of the photography of Laurent Kronental, brings to mind the damage to the world done by founding modernist Le Corbusier. “A poetic vision of … Continue reading →

Posted in Architects, Architecture, Architecture Education, Architecture History, Art and design, Other countries, Providence, Urbanism and planning | Tagged , , , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

Zaha bolts BBC interview

Posted on September 24, 2015 by David Brussat

And who can blame her? Zaha Hadid was asked to explain the deaths of construction workers at the site of her vagina-like stadium in Qatar for the 2022 World Soccer Cup. At the time the charge of hundreds of deaths … Continue reading →

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Architecture and friendliness

Posted on September 23, 2015 by David Brussat

My friend Cliff Vanover just sent me a link to Travel & Leisure’s new survey on the 266 places that made it onto its list of World’s Unfriendliest Cities. The unfriendliest was Moscow. A hint of political bias, perhaps? How … Continue reading →

Posted in Architecture, Art and design, Books and Culture, Other countries, Photography, Providence, Rhode Island, Urbanism and planning | Tagged , , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

Architecture and happiness

Posted on September 23, 2015 by David Brussat

In “Why the ‘happiest’ cities are boring,” John Kay of the Financial Times makes a series of very important distinctions between happy cities and great cities, and in doing so he challenges most of the reigning official definitions of happiness … Continue reading →

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

Staff surrounds Eiffel Tower

Posted on September 19, 2015 by David Brussat

Unforgettable forgotten moments from the past are pictured in this romp called “Unrocognizable Paris: The Monuments that Vanished,” on the blog MessynessyChic.com. The well-illustrated piece recalls when the Champ de Mars was filled with monuments made of “staff,” a mixture … Continue reading →

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

What the Carbuncle bestows

Posted on September 15, 2015 by David Brussat

Here is a fatuously furious piece about the Walkie-Talkie building that just won Britain’s Carbuncle Cup. “The Walkie Talkie is a sty in London’s eye,” by Ned Beauman, browbeats the building as if it had committed a dark sin equalled … Continue reading →

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Mont Saint-Michel of old

Posted on September 8, 2015 by David Brussat

On my bucket list is a visit to Mont Saint-Michel, a monestary surrounded by a village on an island just over half a mile off the coast of Lower Normandy, in France. It originated as a fort in ancient times … Continue reading →

Posted in Architecture, Architecture History, Art and design, Books and Culture, Landscape Architecture, Other countries, Photography | Tagged , , , , , , , , , | 3 Comments

Carbuncle Cup antidote

Posted on September 2, 2015 by David Brussat

Here are some photos taken just days ago by Michael Gerhardt, former interim director of the Providence Athenaeum and longtime skipper of the Pandion, anchored in Bristol. He and his wife just returned from a holiday in London and sent … Continue reading →

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Behead the Islamic State

Posted on August 29, 2015 by David Brussat

It may have been the beheading of Khalid al-Asaad, known as Mr. Palmyra, a retired professor and protector of antiquities at Palmyra, that pushed me over the edge a few days ago, and I’ve been mulling the idea with further … Continue reading →

Posted in Architecture, Architecture History, Books and Culture, Other countries, Video | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , | 4 Comments