A4 Architecture Blog
A4 Guide: Preservation Society of Newport County
Before the founding of the Preservation Society, Newport was both very different than it once was as well as different from what it has now become. In 1945, the glories of the Gilded Age were long past, broken by the 4 sequential catastrophes of World War I, the...
A4 Guide: Newport Architectural Forum
Newport, as many historians have noted over the years, is an architectural treasure chest. From the Colonial Era, to early Victorian, to the Gilded Age, and finally, to present times, Newport has an amazing breadth and depth of architectural gems for a community that...
A4 Guide: Architectural Quotes
52 Great Architectural Quotes 26 Best Quotes About Design by Non-Architects “Architecture must honor three things: Strength. Function. Beauty.” --Vitruvius “Beauty perishes in life, but is immortal in art.” --Leonardo da Vinci “Architecture is frozen music.”...
A4 Guide: Preserving Newport
As the Archi-TEXT column has pointed out many times, Newport is an extraordinary treasure trove of historic architecture, spanning from the early days of the Colonial settlement of New England and continuing right up until the present day. Newport is fortunate to be a...
Architectural Firm Spotlight: Peabody and Stearns
The Shingle Style, which was described in a previous Archi-TEXT, was an architectural form that developed in the late 19th century in Newport, RI and other New England seaside resort communities. It is often associated with the preeminent firm of the era, McKim Mead...
A4 Project Spotlight: Vinland Estate
A4 Architecture is in the midst of helping fix McAuley Hall, which was originally designed by the noted Boston architectural firm of Peabody & Stearns in 1882 for Catherine Lorillard Wolfe as "The Vinland Estate." This is one of the "Crown Jewels" in Salve Regina...
A4 Guide: The Enduring Power of New England’s Shingle Style
The Shingle Style, as it has come to be known, was originally a relatively short-lived offshoot of the Victorian Queen Anne Revival style during the late 19th century in the United States. This style has, over the last century, come to epitomize the leisure and...
A4 Guide: Climate Change Impacts in Newport
Nowhere is the adage “Think Globally, Act Locally” more pertinent than in the area of global climate change. Since the recent election of Joseph Biden as President of the United States on January 20th, there have been a series of events in Newport that have reinforced...
A4 Guide: Becoming an Architect
Until the late nineteenth century, the process of becoming an architect was through apprenticeships and practice, and nearly exclusively for men. Like most crafts, one began as an “Apprentice,” graduated to “Journeyman,” and then late in life, if one worked hard and...
Newport Architect Spotlight: Richard Morris Hunt
Richard Morris Hunt, one of the most noteworthy architects of the last half of the 19th Century, had a strong and long affiliation with Newport. He met his wife, the heiress Catherine Howland, in Newport in 1860. He had an artist’s studio here as did his famous...
A4 Guide: The Power of Place
Winston Churchill once observed, “We shape our buildings; thereafter they shape us.” He made this statement in the midst of World War II to the House of Lords calling for the rebuilding of the House of Commons to the same high standard of design and construction...
A4 Guide: A History of Energy Distribution
With the recent power outage in downtown Newport on November 30, we were all reminded of just how dependent most of us have become on electricity, the Internet, and the Artificial Intelligence available through computerized search tools. As we move as a city, state,...
A4 Spotlight: 2021 Rhode Island Historic Preservation Conference
Rhode Island is a state where historic architecture is a natural resource that helps make the state more attractive to both residents and visitors alike. Tourism is one of the state's central economic drivers. Katherine Warren, the Newport socialite who helped found...
A4 Guide: Finding the Right Builder
In previous Archi-TEXTs, there have been discussions on how to choose the right architect for your project and how to work with them to choose the right design for your new building or renovation. This article will address the different factors you should consider in...
A4 Guide: Construction Documents
In past Archi-TEXT articles, it has been discussed that one of the prime contributions an architect can make to a project and the key determinate of how successfully the construction project will go is the quality and completeness of the construction documentation....
A4 Guide: Phases of the Architectural Design Process
In previous Archi-TEXT articles it was discussed the value of an architect to help you navigate the various phases of the design of a new home or building or the renovation of an existing one, but what are the various phases of the architectural design process? The...
A4 Guide: How to Choose a Design
In a previous Archi-TEXT, it was discussed how to find the right architect for your project. But that is just the first step in your design journey. Now the fun part begins: how to choose a design and guide it. Your architect will be tasked with managing space and...
A4 Guide: How to Choose an Architect
In previous blogs, Archi-TEXT has addressed the issues of whether you need an architect and what value an architect can bring to your project. This article will address how to evaluate and select an architect. There are many things that you might want to find in an...
A4 Guide: Becoming an Architect
Until the late nineteenth century, the process of becoming an architect was through apprenticeships and practice, and nearly exclusively for men. Like most crafts, one began as an “Apprentice,” graduated to “Journeyman,” and then late in life, if one worked hard and...
A4 Guide: Things A Contractor Will Not Tell You
Everyone lives in a house or an apartment, so it is easy to ask, “How tricky can it be to build or renovate one?” The answer is “A lot harder than people think!” As an architect for more than 30 years, I have had a front row seat to hundreds of projects we have been...
A4 Guide: Image of an Architect
If architecture is the materialization of finance, technology, and zeitgeist into the structures that first serve then later represent each era, then what is the proper image of an architect, through whom all these complexities must be filtered? When one does a Google...
Newport Spotlight: A History of Public Schools in Newport
Although we have come to take for granted in the United States that all children will receive a public education, this was not always the case. Education during the Colonial era was a prized and valuable asset that was generally only available to the wealthy. Most...
Newport Architecture Spotlight: Newport School Buildings
Of the school buildings in Newport, the current Rogers High School is the most recognizable, and also the third building to carry this name. The first was built on Church Street in 1873. The second was built on Broadway in 1905 and is now part of the Thompson Middle...
A4 Guide: A Short History of Newport Zoning
Architecture has been with us since the dawn of mankind. Zoning, which is the societal prescription of what can and cannot be built in a particular location, is barely 100 years old in the United States. The earliest zoning laws were the Los Angeles Ordinances of...
A4 Project Spotlight: Barclay Square Newport, RI
Here are some photos of a project we did at Barclay Square, Newport, Rhode Island. Looking to remodel your home? Let’s connect. Join the Architectural Forum to stay up-to-date with architectural news from Rhode Island and abroad. Want to continue...
A4 Project Spotlight: Dixon Street Newport, RI
Here are some photos of a project we did on Dixon Street, Newport, Rhode Island. Looking to renovate your space or create a new one? Let’s connect. Join the Architectural Forum to stay up-to-date with architectural news from Rhode Island and abroad. ...
A4 Project Spotlight: Oakwood Newport, RI
Here are some photos of the renovation we did at Oakwood, Newport, Rhode Island. Looking to renovate your space or create a new one? Let’s connect. Join the Architectural Forum to stay up-to-date with architectural news from Rhode Island and abroad. ...
A4 Project Spotlight: Harborview Condo
Here are some photos of the project we did at a Harborview Condo, Newport, Rhode Island. Looking to renovate your space or create a new one? Let’s connect. Join the Architectural Forum to stay up-to-date with architectural news from Rhode Island and abroad....
A4 Project Spotlight: Brown University – Faculty Residence
LEED Silver Certification Achieved Here are some photos of the project we did at Brown University for their Faculty Residence in Providence, Rhode Island. Besides Brown University, we have also worked with Salve Regina University in Newport, Rhode Island, on housing...
A4 Project Spotlight: Salve Regina – Ochre Lodge Carriage House
“A4 Architecture helps see the Ochre Lodge Carriage House converted into a dormitory” For more than forty years, the Carriage House of Ochre Lodge, on the campus of Salve Regina University, had been used as an unheated storage garage. Set in the midst of 19th-century...
Maya Lin and the Challenge of Creating Public Art
In 1981, when the judges of the Vietnam Memorial competition opened the envelope on the back of the winning entry board, they found the name “Maya Lin” and the address of a Yale dormitory where the young woman lived as an undergraduate student. From among more than...
A4 Project Spotlight: The Newport Arboretum
Newport is not only known for its concentration of great and important architecture. It is also a cemetery for landscape design and a treasure trove of rare and exotic trees. This is not surprising as the city has always been a port city connected to distant lands by...
A4 Spotlight: Act 6061 Legislation
Rhode Island Housing Zoning Map On February 22, 2022, Rhode Island Governor Dan McKee signed into law Act 6061, also known as the "Zoning Modernization and Housing Act." This landmark legislation introduced significant changes to the states zoning ordinances, aiming...
A4 Spotlight: The 179D Energy Tax Credit
HVAC System Diagram The 179D Energy Efficient Commercial Buildings Deduction is a tax incentive that allows building owners to deduct the cost of certain energy-efficient improvements to their buildings. The deduction was first introduced in 2005 and has been expanded...
A4 Spotlight: The Architectural Heritage of Newport
The Cover of The Architectural Heritage of Newport, Rhode Island In 1952, the book The Architectural Heritage of Newport, Rhode Island, 1640-1915, was published. It was a collaboration between eminent architectural historian Antoinette Downing and Yale art historian...
A4 Spotlight: Minimizing Parking Requirements
New Urbanism Development (New York City) Last month, Austin, Texas, became the largest city in the country to eliminating parking minimums citywide. In doing so, it joined other cities like Nashville, Tennessee, Olympia, Washington and many others in eliminated...
A4 Spotlight: Long Wharf North Renovation
Long Wharf Mall (Newport, Rhode Island) When Newport was first founded in 1639 upon the discovery of a freshwater spring near the deep-water harbor, there was one main road connecting the spring to the water: Long Wharf. This wharf extended out into the Narragansett...
A4 Spotlight: Preserving Colonial Newport
52 Thames Street Exterior Before & After Newport, Rhode Island, is a city with a rich history dating back to its founding in 1639. It is home to some of the finest examples of Colonial Era architecture in the United States. However, many of historic houses have...
A4 Architecture Spotlight: The Helmway Restaurant Transformation
The Helmway Restaurant At the heart of every wonderful travel experience is the opportunity to eat local foods in delightful and comfortable settings. As part of the renovation and reposting of the Pell Hotel on Aquidneck Island in Middletown, RI, which is...
A4 Spotlight: Converting to Sustainable Energy
Hydroelectric Dam in Uruguay The issues of climate change sometimes seem so large and intractable that many people feel like there is nothing they can do and throw their hands in the air in hopelessness. However, some other countries have managed to almost completely...
The Evolution of the “15-Minute City” Concept
Colonial Map of Newport, Rhode Island (1878) The 15-Minute City is an urban design concept that aims to create neighborhoods where all of a resident's essential needs can be met within a 15-minute walk or bike ride. This includes access to housing, food, work,...
Newport Architect Spotlight: Richard Morris Hunt (Early Career)
JNA Griswold Design Sketch (Above) and the completed house (Below), 1864 Richard Morris Hunt (1827-1895) was the first American citizen to be admitted to study at the École des Beaux Arts, the preeminent school of art and architecture in the world during the 19th...
Newport Spotlight: Ida Lewis Yacht Club (ILYC)
Aerial view of the Ida Lewis Yacht Club (Photo Credits: PJ Dougherty) When a city is as old as Newport, Rhode Island, which was founded in 1639, many of the buildings and structures of the city have had to function for many different purposes over time. This blog has...
Newport Architectural Spotlight: Harbour Court
New York Yacht Club - Newport, RI (Photo by Ross Cann A4 Architecture) Following the death of John Nicholas Brown I (1860-1906), his young widow Natalie (Dresser) Brown (1869-1950) commissioned Ralph Adams Cram of the Boston firm Cram, Goodhue and Ferguson to...