A4 Architecture Blog
Newport Architecture Spotlight: Rosecliff and the Newport Flower Show
Rosecliff (McKim, Mead & White, 1901 Bellevue Avenue Facade (Photo Credits: PSNC) Newport is famous for its grand buildings, many of which are both extravagant and unique. Many of the mansions on Bellevue Avenue in particular were created more for entertaining...
A4 Guide: Public Spaces – Streets and Sidewalks
When most people think about the subject of "Public Spaces," streets and sidewalks are not the first thought - they will often immediately think of parks and public squares. The recent debate about and subsequent renovation of Queen Anne Square shows how much...
Newport Architecture Spotlight: Washington Square
Newport has been many things over its lifetime: a Gilded Age resort, a post World War II Navy town, and today, an important destination for historic tourism. But at one time Newport was a small colonial village that was made prosperous by its excellent harbor and...
Newport Spotlight: The Value of Newport – Historic Assets
Newport is a special place but sometimes it is easy for those who live here to forget just how special. In helping write the summary of the Washington Square Community Charrette report, based upon the Value Setting and Charrette process that more than three hundred...
Newport Spotlight: Events Around Town
This week was a busy one for architectural programming in Newport. On Wednesday, March 6 at Rosecliff, a panel was convened to discuss the state of the Newport Historic Urban Plan initiative. John Tschirch served as moderator and four of the project’s scholarly...
Newport Spotlight: Tennis History Lives on in Newport
Everyone knows that Rhode Island is the smallest state in the union in terms of size but in the world of tennis we have historically stood very tall indeed. In terms of tennis history, Newport, Rhode Island is the place to be. It is the site of one of the oldest...
Newport Architecture Spotlight: Urban Theatre
Once upon a time, to see a musical performance, a play, or a movie, one had to convene with other people in a large building called a theatre. Now, with the rapid advance of technology, we can get our information and entertainment on televisions, computers,...
Newport Architecture Spotlight: Redwood Library in Newport
The Redwood Library in Newport, Rhode Island, is one of the city's most venerable buildings. This structure is home to the nation’s oldest circulating library still in its original building. Its creation was a product of the Philosophical Club, a group of leading...
Newport Architect Spotlight: Wharton/Codman – Newport Architectural Symposium
The fourth annual Newport Architectural Symposium, which was held here last Saturday, focused on the creative interaction between the noted American author Edith Wharton and architect and designer Ogden Codman. These two artistic giants began their careers in Newport,...
Newport Architecture Spotlight: The Ballroom at Marble House
If there is one thing that the great houses of Newport were really built for, it is to throw a party. Many of the great “cottages” are really just enormous entertaining spaces with five and six-bedroom homes attached. One of the grandest ballrooms ever to be built in...
Newport Architecture Spotlight: The Breakers
Newport is known for its stately homes but The Breakers sets the standard for stately homes not just in Newport but for homes built in the nineteenth century everywhere. Designed for Cornelius Vanderbilt II in 1895 by Richard Morris Hunt, one of the greatest...
Newport Spotlight: Newport Architecture and History
The history of Newport (and therefore to a degree the cultural history of America) is written in the architecture of our “City by the Sea.” Unfortunately, that history is written in columns, rooflines, door styles, and a myriad of other architectural elements that are...
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A4 Introduction to AI
My fellow citizens, the time has come. The future is here, and it is called ChatGPT. This revolutionary AI chatbot website is here to change the world, and we must embrace it with all our strength and determination. I know that many of you are eager to try ChatGPT for...
A4 Guide: Induction Cooking
Imagine using a cooktop where the pot gets hot, but the stovetop remains cold. Imagine being able to boil water twice as fast as a gas range but without the danger of an open flame. Imagine reducing not only the toxic gases within your home but also reducing the...
A4 Guide: Pros and Cons of Natural Gas
Nearly everyone has come to the conclusion that global warming and severe climate change are both real and serious. Nearly 1/3 of California was listed as being at danger of fire, there are severe storms and flooding elsewhere in the country, and parts of the Arctic...
A4 Architecture Spotlight: Heat Pumps
One of the most interesting technological developments of the last decade, were improvements to heat pump systems. Unlike standard boilers of furnaces, which normally burn either by heating oil or natural gas to generate heat, heat pumps use either the ambient latent...
A4 Spotlight: Renovating in a Historic District
In the realm of architecture change is inevitable. It can come in the form of disintegration or renovation. Buildings are made of imperfect materials and are subjected to rain, snow, heat, and cold. Similarly, as civilization evolves, buildings need to evolve along...
Architectural Spotlight: St. George’s Chapel
The noble, elegant and magnificent architecture of Newport County is not just located in the city of Newport but is found in each of the other five communities that are also part of the county, including Middletown, Portsmouth, Tiverton, Little Compton and Jamestown....
A4 Spotlight: Waves
Newport’s many great houses are continually going through transformations and evolution. One interesting example is the Waves, which is built on the southernmost projection of Aquidneck Island out into the Atlantic Ocean. Originally a mile from downtown Newport, the...
A4 Spotlight: Beachmound Renovation
Newport, Rhode Island is famous for its grand mansions. There were large houses built during the Colonial Era and the time between the Revolutionary War and the Civil War, but it was during the Gilded Age which lasted from 1865 to 1915 that the largest number and...
Newport Spotlight: Rose Island Lighthouse
Rose Island Aerial - Image by PJ Dougherty There is one kind of building type that is only found along the coastlines of the world: the lighthouse. From the earliest days when the great lighthouse at Alexandria was considered one of the great wonders of the...
A4 Spotlight: Ochre Court
Salve Regina University is celebrating its 75th Anniversary in 2022. Although plans by the Sisters of Mercy were set in place many years before, in 1947 the nuns received the gift of Ochre Court from the Goelet family. The building was originally designed by Richard...
A4 Spotlight: George Champlin Mason Jr. House
Amongst the many historic structures that populate Newport's rich architectural landscape, one name appears again and again: George Champlin Mason. From 1860 until the mid 1890s, George Champlin Mason Sr. and his son of the same name designed more than 150 notable...
Newport Spotlight: Redwood Library
Among the many firsts that Newport, Rhode Island is famous for and proud of is the Redwood Library, the oldest continuously operating purpose-built library in America. Through it's construction and expansion over time, the building has been an icon of both the history...