Category Archives: Other countries

Visiting beautiful Guatemala

Providence Mayor Jorge Elorza recently visited Guatemala at the invitation of the Central American nation’s commerce secretary. Elorza – whose family hails from Guatemala – hopes to have persuaded the national airline to schedule regular flights to T.F. Green State … Continue reading

Posted in Architects, Architecture, Architecture History, Art and design, Development, Other countries, Providence, Urbanism and planning | Tagged , , , , , , , , , | 6 Comments

The great cities after WWII

Today is the 50th anniversary of the day Japan’s surrender in World War II was announced – a holiday still celebrated in no U.S. state but Rhode Island. It is a day to remember those who died, those who sacrificed, … Continue reading

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“World’s Greatest Buildings”

Below is an “Infographic” depicting the great structural innovations of architectural history, kindly sent to me by Andrew Sweeny, of Pennywell, a company in Ireland that produces upscale kitchen work surfaces. Sweeny entitles his Infographic “The Greatest Buildings of World … Continue reading

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Epson pano photo winners

Here is a dramatic set of swooping shots taken by video of winning 360° panoramic photographs – stills taken in the round – from throughout the world, cities, the wild, geographic formations – it’s all here for your pleasure from … Continue reading

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Save market in Porto, Port.

The blog Old Portuguese Stuff is crusading to save the interior of the Mercado do Bolhäo, in Porto, one of Portugal’s most storied cities. It is home to the British architect and engineer Malcolm Millais, author of Exploding the Myths … Continue reading

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Des “passages” de Paris

In the late 1800s, long after Baron Haussmann supposedly transformed the Paris of rabbit warrens into a Paris of bowling alleys for cannoneers, the protagonist (if you can call him that) of Umberto Eco’s novel The Prague Cemetery (2010) – … Continue reading

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Save Europe’s oldest street

I blogged on the fate of Winchester, England, Europe’s oldest main street – home of the Winchester Cathedral made famous in song – several years ago. Since then the activist group Winchester Deserves Better has been fighting the scheme (they … Continue reading

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Hari-kari for Ha-Ha bowl

Zaha “Ha-Ha” Hadid’s design for an Olympic stadium for the 2020 Summer Games in Tokyo has been controversial since Japan was selected to host the games in 2013. Now Hadid’s proposal has been axed by Japanese officials. You might almost … Continue reading

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De Botton’s sore bottom line

Alain de Botton, who wrote a rollicking book a while back called The Architecture of Happiness, has produced a video, “The Ruin of London,” expressing his horror at what is happening in the favorite city of the super rich. He … Continue reading

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Cellini: Pearls before duchess

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

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