Tag Archives: urbanism

Architects and the “Vision” Thing

Posted on October 27, 2015 by Blowhard, Esq.

Blowhard, Esq. writes: Via Wired, architects Vishaan Chakrabarti and Gregg Pasquarelli discuss how they would improve New York City: I agree with a couple of their suggestions: more crosstown connections (particularly a crosstown subway) would be nice and fewer cars would be appreciated … Continue reading →

Posted in Architecture | Tagged experts, Gregg Pasquarelli, modernism, Nathan Myhrvold, New York City, spontaneous order, traditionalism, urbanism, Vishaan Chakrabarti | 1 Comment

Restore, Don’t Redesign, Pershing Square

Posted on September 2, 2015 by Blowhard, Esq.

Blowhard, Esq. writes: Today the L.A. City Council announced an international competition to redesign Pershing Square located in the heart of downtown. The existing design by AIA Gold Medal winner Ricardo Legorreta, which dates from 1994, has been widely hated for … Continue reading →

Posted in Architecture | Tagged John B. Parkinson, Los Angeles, parks, Pershing Square, Ricardo Legorreta, traditionalism, urbanism | 6 Comments

Edges, Pointiness, Minimalism and Public Seating

Posted on August 31, 2015 by Paleo Retiree

Paleo Retiree writes: On a beautiful recent day, my wife and I treated ourselves to a long, leisurely walk — first through the West Village, then down along Hudson River Park, and finally through and beyond Battery Park Marina. The red line shows our … Continue reading →

Posted in Architecture | Tagged architecture, modernism, New York City, parks, traditionalism, urbanism | 5 Comments

Architects That Don’t Suck: David M. Schwarz

Posted on August 17, 2015 by Blowhard, Esq.

Blowhard, Esq. writes: In this first installment of Architects That Don’t Suck, I’d like to highlight the work of Washington D.C.-based architect David M. Schwarz. Hey, whaddya know — not all contempo architects specialize in gleaming modernist geegaws. Some builders out … Continue reading →

Posted in Architecture | Tagged David M. Schwarz, Fort Worth, traditionalism, TX, urbanism | 1 Comment

Architecture Du Jour: Cold Spring, NY

Posted on August 9, 2015 by Blowhard, Esq.

Blowhard, Esq. writes: Fabrizio took me on a tour of the Orange County area of the Hudson Valley this weekend and we ended the day in Cold Spring. The central part of the village, which is on the National Register of … Continue reading →

Posted in Architecture | Tagged Cold Spring, traditionalism, upstate New York, urbanism | 4 Comments

Crap Space 1

Posted on July 31, 2015 by Paleo Retiree

Paleo Retiree writes: For no doubt perverse and disgraceful reasons I enjoy snapping photos of architectural goofs. One of the mistakes I’m most drawn to noticing and documenting is what I think of as “crap space” — pockets of in-betweenness (or out-in-frontness, … Continue reading →

Posted in Architecture | Tagged architecture, christopher alexander, crap space, david sucher, Nikos Salingaros, parks, urbanism, william whyte | 11 Comments

“Filthy Cities”

Posted on June 2, 2015 by Paleo Retiree

Paleo Retiree writes: I recently enjoyed (if with some reservations) the three-part BBC documentary series “Filthy Cities,” which recently became available on Netflix Instant. Medieval London, revolutionary Paris and industrial-age New York City are the filthy cities covered by the … Continue reading →

Posted in Television | Tagged BBC, cities, dan snow, documentary, television, urbanism | Leave a comment

Architecture Du Jour: Hampden, MA

Posted on May 21, 2015 by Blowhard, Esq.

Blowhard, Esq. writes: I recently spent some time in sleepy, idyllic southern Massachusetts, my first time in New England. Fenster disputes that this area is New England at all, but what does he know? What the town lacked in ethnic restaurants … Continue reading →