-
Click for more on book
Recent Comments
LazyReader on Ellsworth testifies for N… John the First on Really saving New York Ci… John the First on Really saving New York Ci… Steven W Semes on Ellsworth testifies for N… David Brussat on Really saving New York Ci… Stephen J ORourke on Really saving New York Ci… David Brussat on Really saving New York Ci… David Brussat on Really saving New York Ci…
Tag Archives: classical architecture
Best trad buildings of 2021
This year’s meagre selection of new buildings designed in traditional styles came close to cancellation, not the first event to suffer that fate lately. It is depressing this year, as it was last year, to contemplate the listlessness of the … Continue reading
Wharton’s “House of Mirth”
Being about two-thirds through Edith Wharton’s 1905 novel, I am still not quite sure I’ve actually encountered the “house of mirth” she gives as its title. What follows is a passage in which a secondary character, Van Alstyne, in Wharton’s … Continue reading
Greenberg’s independence
In the temporal orbit of Independence Day, we have seen the passing of classicist Thomas Gordon Smith and the trashing of all the values he respected and that we celebrate on the Fourth of July. Leaving aside the latter, I … Continue reading
Posted in Architecture
Tagged Allan Greenberg, classical architecture, Fascism, Hitler, Modern Architecture, Mussolini, Thomas Gordon Smith
7 Comments
Thos. Gordon Smith, R.I.P.
Classical architect Thomas Gordon Smith died peacefully in his sleep near the South Bend, Ind., campus of the University of Notre Dame, age 73. His many admirers have adorned pages with encomiums to his commitment to classical architecture, to its … Continue reading
Posted in Architecture, Architecture History
Tagged 1980 Venice Biennale, classical architecture, General Services Administration, Gordon Bock, GSA Chief Architect, Marika Smith, Modern Architecture, School of Architecture, Thomas Gordon Smith, Traditional Building, Trump Executive Ordeer, University of Notre Dame
19 Comments
A memorial to the agrafe
Today is a day to remember those who have given their lives to perpetuate our American system, the first rule based on the ideal of equality under law for all citizens. Each citizen differs, and likewise, while maybe not quite … Continue reading
Posted in Architecture
Tagged Agrafe, classical architecture, ICAA, Ornament, Seth Weine, Wikipedia
Leave a comment
Driehaus for Treese of Mainz
Perhaps it makes sense that Europeans have received the four of the last five Driehaus prizes. One went to a Thai. At the risk of appearing nativist, the last American laureate was the Florida architect Scott Merrill (2016). This year’s … Continue reading
Russia’s artful classicist – Da!
Historian James Stevens Curl, the author of Making Dystopia (2018), the most comprehensive critical history of modern architecture, has sent me a marvelous video of the classical work of the Russian architect Mikhail Filippov. His work has been described as … Continue reading
Betsky on classical popularity
Before I applaud modernist critic Aaron Betsky’s kind words for classical architecture in the wake of the Harris Poll confirming its popularity, let me note, also with approval, the even more recent article by critic Kriston Capps, entitled “Why Trump’s … Continue reading
“The Art of Classic Planning”
This comprehensive, fascinating and brilliant volume by Nir Haim Buras, who founded the Washington, D.C., chapter of the Institute of Classical Architecture & Art, is subtitled “Building Beautiful and Enduring Communities.” So one might well assume that it rejects the … Continue reading
Architecture Here and There 