Tag Archives: design

Column: The easy way to build on R.I.’s assets

Posted on March 13, 2014 by David Brussat

Almost all cities and states have policies intended to strengthen their economies by building on their assets. Most fail because they reject easy strategies and embrace difficult strategies. Two recent Commentary pieces in The Providence Journal address this issue: “Wise … Continue reading →

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

Honey, I’m home (after 70 years)!

Posted on February 5, 2014 by David Brussat

Nazis occupy Paris. Lady fed up and leaves for south of France. Never returns but keeps paying rent. Dies at 91. Nobody goes into her apartment until recently, when it was found untouched since her departure 70 years before. A … Continue reading →

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Just stumbled on this …

Posted on January 26, 2014 by David Brussat

Just stumbled on this, which I really gotta love! I thought he was going to somehow hoist me on my own petard, but he ends up … waving my flag? At least I think so. You decide. [Several readers have noted … Continue reading →

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Curse of the ‘Creative Capital’

Posted on January 17, 2014 by David Brussat

The rebranding of the Rhode Island Economic Development Corporation (RIEDC) as the Rhode Island Commerce Corporation (RICC) is complete, and a complete dud. This is the government agency that’s supposed to get the state economy growing again to produce jobs … Continue reading →

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MoMA angst in the modernist world

Posted on January 15, 2014 by David Brussat

The Jan. 9 announcement that New York’s Museum of Modern Art would indeed at last tear down the twee Folk Art Museum embedded in its (MoMA’s) glassy skin has brought to the cozy little world of modern architecture a high … Continue reading →

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Deport the Portajohn Building

Posted on January 9, 2014 by David Brussat

Again Malcolm Millais, of Portugal, author of Exploding the Myths of Modern Architecture (2009), has sent me an uplifting essay, this time from Atlantic Cities, the urban blog, or section, of The Atlantic magazine. The essay, “Should Portland Save a … Continue reading →

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

Column: Roses and raspberries for 2013

Posted on January 9, 2014 by David Brussat

From amid the doldrums of economic lethargy, good news and potential roses for 2013 arose last year in downtown Providence, where the Arcade is being redeveloped, as are four buildings once owned by Providence Gas. Dr. Downtown suspects that readers … Continue reading →

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Megastegasaurus

Posted on January 7, 2014 by David Brussat

Here is Architizer’s list of 10 most controversial architectural controversies of 2013. Most will amuse readers unpredisposed to modern architecture. Many are familiar to readers of this space (or its Journal blog predecessor). The last brouhaha (whether they are in … Continue reading →

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Helluva Helvetica

Posted on January 4, 2014 by David Brussat

Helvetica is a 2007 documentary about the Helvetica typeface that is brutally honest about its subject. After half an hour drooling over its simplicity and how it took over the world in just a couple of minutes after its introduction … Continue reading →

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

April 7, 2005: Architecture and haute couture

Posted on December 30, 2013 by David Brussat

A comment from Thomas Hayes about my last post, “‘Wrong Way’ Corrigan Public Library,” called to mind that I’d once compared, in my Providence Journal column, architecture and fashion design. Here, as a “Blast from the Past,” is that column, … Continue reading →

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