Tag Archives: Modern Architecture

Separated at birth?

Posted on September 23, 2014 by David Brussat

Ludwig Mies van der Rohe and Norman Foster, separated at birth! Just look at them. Nose? Check. Eyes? Check? Chin? Check. A pair of suits with a yen to gesticulate. But on the other hand, maybe not. One was old … Continue reading →

Posted in Architects, Architecture, Humor | Tagged , , , | 1 Comment

Hawthorne and architecture

Posted on September 22, 2014 by David Brussat

In his masterpiece (and my bible) The Golden City (1959), Henry Hope Reed cites a character, Holgrave, from Hawthorne’s House of Seven Gables, in describing early attitudes toward innovation in architecture. He has Holgrave, a daguerrotypist, say to his inamorata, … Continue reading →

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This old neighborhood

Posted on May 3, 2014 by David Brussat

A modest modernist house a Raleigh, N.C., historic district has all of Christendom up in arms. Paul Goldberger has ridden to the defense of the couple, the Cherrys (he’s an architect), who are building the house, arguing that the city’s … Continue reading →

Posted in Architecture, Preservation | Tagged , , , , , | 6 Comments

Column: Warren speaks truth to preservation

Posted on May 1, 2014 by David Brussat

Ocean State preservationists gathered on Saturday in Warren to celebrate pride in preservation, the theme of the 29th annual conference of the Rhode Island Historical Preservation & Heritage Commission. It rained on their parade but not on Warren’s robust sense of … Continue reading →

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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

Taki’s take on New York

Posted on April 5, 2014 by David Brussat

Here is a piece from The Spectator (of Britain) by Taki, the London socialite of Greek extraction who has written the magazine’s “High Life” column since 1977. In this essay he ruminates filmographically about New York and how it has … Continue reading →

Posted in Architecture, Architecture History, Art and design | Tagged , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

Heritage thought experiment

Posted on April 5, 2014 by David Brussat

Alan Davies, a columnist in Melbourne, Australia, who often writes about architecture and planning issues, recently devoted an interesting column to a thought experiment: What if all the old buildings along Melbourne’s main streets – heritage buildings as they are … Continue reading →

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

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 →

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A new stage for Emerson College

Posted on March 29, 2014 by David Brussat

I spent a year in Boston at Emerson College in 1973-74 when it was still on Beacon Street. After I left Boston I heard that Emerson was planning to move out to the suburbs, or rather to Lawrence, Mass. Then, … Continue reading →

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