Tag Archives: design

Biophilia and biomimicry

Posted on July 26, 2014 by David Brussat

Deep in the trenches of architecture, classicists and modernists are battling for the right to don the mantle of science. If you google “architecture biophilia” you will see a lot of stuff – including buildings – covered with greenery. That’s … Continue reading →

Posted in Architecture, Art and design | Tagged , , , , , , | 2 Comments

Painted girl evolves

Posted on April 26, 2014 by David Brussat

Here, courtesy of Gizmodo.com, is an intriguing stop-action video of a girl, a dozen or more cans of paint and a camera. Very amusing, and delicious. She’s a lovely girl, apparently named Elvis, and I post this under the rubric … Continue reading →

Posted in Architecture, Art and design, Humor | Tagged , , , , , , , , | 7 Comments

Ridiculouser and ridiculouser

Posted on April 15, 2014 by David Brussat

I’m sure some readers will think I’m getting tedious, but there seems to be no end to the asininity parading as architecture. The above abomination has been proposed for Queens. Will there ever be a time when real people find … Continue reading →

Posted in Architecture | Tagged , , , , | 2 Comments

Blast Past: Biltmore nose job

Posted on April 12, 2014 by David Brussat

As mentioned in my last column about the Dean Hotel, the Biltmore almost received a sockdologer right in the kisser back in 2003. I condemned it as a “nose job for the Biltmore” in a column back then, and it … Continue reading →

Posted in Architecture, Architecture History, Art and design, Blast from past, Preservation, Providence | Tagged , , , , , , | 7 Comments

Past blast: Confusion of the design reviewers

Posted on April 8, 2014 by David Brussat

As an enticement to read Thursday’s column about the new Dean Hotel, on Fountain Street in downtown Providence, I offer a blast from the past. In 2006 the city permitted a developer to pull down the building on Fountain next … Continue reading →

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SF rejects free museum

Posted on April 6, 2014 by David Brussat

John King, the architecture critic for the San Francisco Chronicle, occasionally displays reasonable judgment, which is considerably more often than most architecture critics. But in his piece for Metropolis defending the city’s rejection of a free, $700 million museum to be … Continue reading →

Posted in Architecture, Art and design | Tagged , , , , , , | 5 Comments

Good news for Providence!

Posted on April 1, 2014 by David Brussat

Here is great news for the city from Mayor Taveras and the Jewelry District Association! Tip o’ the cap to Lewis Dana for this timely revelation!  

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Blast past: Deep skinny on Parcel 9

Posted on March 29, 2014 by David Brussat

Here is a column I wrote in 1999 about a year after the design for Parcel 9 was denounced  by Mayor Vincent A. “Buddy” Cianci Jr. This predates any notion that GTECH would turn a sad situation into a continuing … Continue reading →

Posted in Architecture, Architecture History, Blast from past, Providence, Urbanism and planning | Tagged , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Column: The secret to making great streets

Posted on March 20, 2014 by David Brussat

The secret to great streets is that there is no secret, that great streets were once the norm, that making them is easy, and that we can have them again, even in America, if we want them. This is the … Continue reading →

Posted in Architecture, Architecture History, Art and design, Book/Film Reviews, Other countries, Preservation, Urbanism and planning | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

Aaron Betsky sees the light?

Posted on March 15, 2014 by David Brussat

It was a remarkable admission to appear under the byline of an architecture critic of the stature of Aaron Betsky, in Architecture Magazine, the mouthpiece of the American Institute of Architects. His piece is called “A Place for Grief and … Continue reading →

Posted in Architecture, Art and design, Urbanism and planning | Tagged , , , , , , , | 3 Comments