Tag Archives: Britain

Transport official on beauty

Posted on November 3, 2016 by David Brussat

On my ballot next Tuesday I will write in John Hayes for president. Dammit! He is ineligible. He is a member of Parliament, and now Britain’s minister for transport, newly appointed by Prime Minister Theresa May, successor to David Cameron … Continue reading →

Posted in Architecture, Urbanism and planning | Tagged , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Brexit and architecture

Posted on June 24, 2016 by David Brussat

British voters’ startling decision to opt out of the European Union dismayed many British architects. Dezeen found no one to quote supporting Brexit in a story just before the vote. “We love EU, declare UK architects and designers ahead of … Continue reading →

Posted in Architecture | Tagged , , , , , , , | 7 Comments

Plymouth after World War II

Posted on January 28, 2016 by David Brussat

Mark Motte, author with Francis Leazes of Providence: The Renaissance City, urged me to view an old documentary on video called “How We Live Now,” filmed in 1946, about the effort to rebuild Plymouth, the most heavily bombed city per … Continue reading →

Posted in Architects, Architecture, Architecture Education, Architecture History, Development, Other countries, Urbanism and planning, Video | Tagged , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

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 →

Posted in Architecture, Architecture History, Other countries, Photography, Preservation, Urbanism and planning | Tagged , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Why not resod the old sod?

Posted on June 9, 2015 by David Brussat

Unsurprisingly, there have been proposals to demolish and replace the Houses of Parliament along the Thames in London. The excuses are a perceived need for greater openness, to be supplied by glass of course, or for more accommodation of the … Continue reading →

Posted in Architecture, Architecture History, Other countries, Rhode Island, Urbanism and planning | Tagged , , , , , , | 2 Comments

Return to the establishment

Posted on April 4, 2015 by David Brussat

It appears that tradition has begun its long march back through the institutions, at least in Britain. Oliver Wainwright’s latest piece in the Guardian, reprinted in Architectural Record, is “The Tories’ New Design Guide Backs Tiny, Unlivable, Backward-Looking Homes.” It … Continue reading →

Posted in Architects, Architecture, Development, Other countries, Urbanism and planning | Tagged , , , , , , , | 3 Comments

Stewardship at Downton

Posted on February 1, 2015 by David Brussat

Steve Lawton sent to the Practice of New Urbanism list a few choice lines about recent scenes from Downton Abbey. He notes the care with which an aristocrat addresses the proposals of a developer, circa 1922 (I think), to build … Continue reading →

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

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 →

Posted in Architecture, Art and design, Other countries | Tagged , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Landscape styles at war

Posted on October 24, 2014 by David Brussat

” ‘Now there’ said he, pointing his finger, ‘I make a comma, and there’ pointing to another spot, ‘where a more decided turn is proper, I make a colon; at another part, where an interruption is desirable to break the … Continue reading →

Posted in Architecture, Architecture History, Urbanism and planning | Tagged , , , | Leave a comment

Column: Help save history and Peter Pan

Posted on August 21, 2014 by David Brussat

Winchester, a city 68 miles southwest of London, was the seat of government in England until the 12th century, and the center of its trade in wool. The town figures as Kingsbridge in Ken Follett’s novel “The Pillars of the … Continue reading →

Posted in Architecture, Architecture History, Books and Culture, Development, Other countries | Tagged , , , | 2 Comments