Tag Archives: Brown University

Handsome rectangular box?

Posted on October 23, 2015 by David Brussat

I had hoped to remain mum to “Brown’s handsome rectangular box,” as the headline over my friend William Morgan’s piece in the Providence Journal describes the university’s latest foray into the avant garde. Not very far into it, Morgan shrugs, … Continue reading →

Posted in Architects, Architecture, Architecture Education, Architecture History, Art and design, Development, Providence, Urbanism and planning | Tagged , , , , , , , , , | 9 Comments

Mumford’s words of warning

Posted on October 16, 2015 by David Brussat

Here is a passage from Lewis Mumford’s essay “The Case Against ‘Modern Architecture’” in the April 1962 issue of Architectural Record: In so far as modern architecture has succeeded in expressing modern life, it has done better in calling attention … Continue reading →

Posted in Architects, Architecture, Architecture Education, Architecture History, Art and design, Development, Rhode Island, Urbanism and planning | Tagged , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

Latest projects in Providence

Posted on August 25, 2015 by David Brussat

Above are two maps of Providence before and after the relocation of Route 195, opening up about 40 acres for development between downtown and the Jewelry District. Toward the top of the map you can see the Providence River curve … Continue reading →

Posted in Architecture, Art and design, Development, Landscape Architecture, Preservation, Providence, Rhode Island, Urbanism and planning | Tagged , , , , , , , , | 2 Comments

Redesign this awful garage!

Posted on July 17, 2015 by David Brussat

The proposed garage above is part of a project that is to feature a Rhode Island state nursing school housed in a Beaux-Arts former electric plant. South Street Landing, as the project is known, will also have offices for Brown … Continue reading →

Posted in Architecture, Art and design, Development, Preservation, Providence, Urbanism and planning | Tagged , , , , , , | 7 Comments

Garden party in Providence?

Posted on May 31, 2015 by David Brussat

Enjoyed giving a tour of Providence to Gibson Worsham and family this morning, before the rain set in. My son Billy and I awaited the Worshams, Gibson and Charlotte, of Richmond, and their son Steve (“Bubba”), a first-year grad at … Continue reading →

Posted in Architecture, Architecture Education, Architecture History, Art and design, Photography, Providence | Tagged , , , , | 4 Comments

More new crap at Brown

Posted on April 22, 2015 by David Brussat

Brown apparently regrets its beauty and wants to be among the ugliest schools in the Ivy League. This is the only conclusion that comports with the fact of what it builds on campus. The latest is the Applied Math Building … Continue reading →

Posted in Architects, Architecture, Architecture Education, Architecture History, Development, Providence | Tagged , , , , , , , | 4 Comments

Knockdown knockabout

Posted on August 14, 2014 by David Brussat

Many years ago, no later than the mid-90s, I was invited by Providence Preservation Society director Arnold Robinson to sit in on a meeting of the facilities planning staffs of Brown University and the Rhode Island School of Design. By … Continue reading →

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Column: New campus for Brown engineering?

Posted on August 14, 2014 by David Brussat

Brown University’s School of Engineering is the oldest engineering program in the Ivy League, begun in 1847, and the third oldest in the country. Brown plans to build a new main engineering building on College Hill, in Providence. The university … Continue reading →

Posted in Architecture, Development, Preservation, Providence | Tagged , , , , , , | 1 Comment

Engineering at Brown

Posted on August 13, 2014 by David Brussat

In the misty past I would cue readers of this blog – or was that its predecessor? – that my Thursday column was coming up. For some obscure reason I’ve decided that’s appropriate for tomorrow’s column about the School of … Continue reading →

Posted in Architecture, Development, Preservation, Providence | Tagged , , , | 1 Comment

Brown engineering virus

Posted on July 28, 2014 by David Brussat

Brown University’s proposed new engineering school on Hope Street is to be designed by the modernist firm that designed the abominable new U.S. embassy in London, Kieran Timberlake. This is almost surely a disaster in the making, but not certainly … Continue reading →

Posted in Architecture, Architecture History, Development, Preservation, Providence | Tagged , , , | 5 Comments