A4 Architecture Blog
A4 Spotlight: Plastics in Architecture
Facade Made Of Plastic No one wants their longest impact on Earth to be the plastic trash they send to a landfill. Our planet faces dual challenges: the pervasive pollution by microplastics and the urgent need to reduce carbon emissions from the built environment....
A4 Spotlight: The PSNC Stores
Gates of The Breakers during the Holiday Season During this Holiday Season and for centuries before, people of every faith have given their loved ones something special at this time of year. However, the way that people shop and buy these gifts has changed...
A4 Spotlight: The 2024 Rhody Awards
2024 Preserve RI "Rhody" Awards at Rosecliff, Newport, RI, Newport RI On October 20, 2024, Preserve Rhode Island celebrated the 2024 Rhody Awards for Historic Preservation at Rosecliff in Newport. This ceremony recognized outstanding achievements in historic...
A4 Spotlight: The History of Chateau Sur Mer
Chateau-sur-Mer, like so many grand houses in Newport, evolved over its long life showing the influences of multiple owners, multiple architects, and multiple eras in and throughout its walls. In 1851, William Shepard Wetmore, a prominent China trade...
A4 Spotlight: Trinity Church & Queen Anne Square
Buildings don’t just make history at the time of their construction. They often reflect the times when they were enlarged or chosen for restoration and reconstruction rather than demolition. They also become important again when the area around them is redeveloped....
A4 Spotlight: The International House Centenary
The International House (New York City, New York) On September 15, 2024, the International House of New York City turned 100 years old. This institution proves the power of architecture and design not just to change lives but to even help change the world. The...
A4 Spotlight: The 2024 Doris Duke Historic Preservation Awards
18th Annual Doris Duke Awards Invite Cover Newport has a rich history visible through the charm of many of its beautifully designed historic buildings and homes. Responsibility for the preservation and maintenance of these buildings has fallen to the people who...
A4 Spotlight: The History of Stick Framing
The United States construction industry and homeowners benefit from being on a continent that is rich is forests and wood resources. As a result, the vast majority of houses have been built not in stone or adobe brick, but from wood “stick framing” with a cladding of...
A4 Architecture Tour: The Point & Washington Square
The Newport Architecture Tour Map Newport Rhode Island was founded in 1639 when a freshwater spring was discovered near a protected deep-water harbor just off the Atlantic Ocean. Unlike other colonies, such as nearby Massachusetts, the colony of "Rhode Island and...
A4 Spotlight: The History of Energy Evolution
Transformative Power Source: Man-Made Fire The story of human civilization is intertwined with the story of our ability to harness energy. From the prehistoric harnessing of fire first that banished the darkness to the current quest to replicate the power of the sun,...
A4 Spotlight: The Architectural Heritage of Jamestown, Rhode Island
Jamestown, Rhode Island Light House Jamestown, Rhode Island was first established in 1678 by the Massachusetts Bay Company on Conanicut Island, the second largest island in the Narragansett Bay. Its rich and long history is well reflected in the community’s...
A4 Spotlight: The History and Significance of Hammersmith Farm
Aerial View of Hammersmith Farm (Newport, Rhode Island) Hammersmith Farm is a sprawling estate in Newport, Rhode Island, steeped in history and anchored by a magnificent Victorian Era mansion. It embodies the Gilded Age, an era of architectural grandeur and societal...
A4 Spotlight: The History of Stick Framing
The United States construction industry and homeowners benefit from being on a continent that is rich is forests and wood resources. As a result, the vast majority of houses have been built not in stone or adobe brick, but from wood “stick framing” with a cladding of...
A4 Spotlight: CAD vs BIM
Proposed First Floor Plan of a Current Residential Project (Newport, RI) Computer-Aided Drafting (CAD) has been a cornerstone of architectural and engineering design since the 1990’s. It revolutionized the industry by replacing traditional hand-drafting methods with...
A4 Sustainability: Carbon Sequestration
The planet is far past the point of being able to avoid Climate Chaos by simply reducing the amount of carbon dioxide humans discard into the atmosphere. The fact that Category 5 hurricanes are now occurring very early in the season along with the warming of oceans...
A4 Architecture’s Twentieth Anniversary
In Honor of Our 20 Year Anniversary I graduated from Architectural School in 1990 and received my professional license to practice architecture by passing all eight exams by 1993, which was the earliest I was allowed to sit for the exams following a three-year...
A4 Spotlight: Making Architecture from Buildings
East View Before & After of Past Project (Newport, Rhode Island) There is a difference between “Architecture” and “Building.” Architecture is an art form that aspires to create an experience and impact the imagination and mindset of the user whereas building is...
A4 Spotlight: The History and Significance of the Charles Baldwin House
Charles H. Baldwin House (Newport, Rhode Island) In previous articles, we have discussed many buildings in Newport, Rhode Island that have been listed among the 2500 National Historic Landmarks (NHLs) in the United States. One level below that esteemed honor are...
A4 Spotlight: The History and Importance of the Watts Sherman House
Watts-Sherman House The William Watts-Sherman House is an architectural landmark set amongst the opulent mansions of Newport, Rhode Island. It was designed from 1875-76 by noted architect Henry Hobson Richardson, and although it is a large and gracious home, it is...
A4 Spotlight: The History and Importance of the Isaac Bell House
Isaac Bell House While the Isaac Bell House is a relatively modest building compared to the opulent mansions of Bellevue Avenue in Newport, Rhode Island which surround it, its historical significance is far greater than its size. This structure, originally called...
A4 Spotlight: Accessory Dwelling Units in RI
Carriage House Render (Newport, RI) As part of our ongoing study of the Affordable Housing shortage in Rhode Island, we will examine the current status of Accessory Dwelling Units (ADUs) within the state. ADUs, also known as “granny flats” or in-law apartments, are...
A4 Spotlight: Affordable Housing in RI
Original Condition Axon (Newport, RI) For an ever-increasing percentage of Americans, the dream of safe, affordable housing remains elusive and the situation in Rhode Island is even more challenging than most places. To understand the current landscape, it is helpful...
A4 Guide: Financing your Project
Financing A Project Diagram Let me preface this article by stating I am an architect and not an accountant or a finance professional, but without a proper financial foundation for a project, it cannot happen. For this reason, we have come to understand the many...
A4 Guide: The Six Phases of the Architectural Design Process
Previous Project on Ocean Ave (Newport, Rhode Island) 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...
A4 Project Spotlight: Portsmouth Town Center
Architecture is all about creating buildings and interiors that are beautiful, functional, sustainable, and enjoyable to use. When you add buildings together you create communities. This process, when done consciously, is called “urban design” and “community...
A4 Project Spotlight: Osprey House Entry & Gates
The house at 80 Ocean Drive was built on the crest of the Ledges estate, one of the most prominent sites in Newport. After twenty years the owners of the estate were having to share their entry with another house and asked Ross Cann of A4 Architecture back to see if a...
A4 Project Spotlight: Pell Hotel
Newport Rhode Island and the surrounding communities of Jamestown, Middletown and Portsmouth have been popular areas for summer visitation since the Colonial period. Newport Harbor’s well protected, deep-water port so close to the Atlantic Ocean made it an ideal...
A4 Project Spotlight: Car Museum Project
Sometimes at the beginning of a project the client comes to the architect with a project goal that seems like it just might be too challenging or insolvable. When a husband and wife pair of car collectors had purchased an old plumbing warehouse and wanted to convert...
A4 Project Spotlight: Ocean Ave Craftsman
When houses were laid out in a small residential development called Chartier Circle back in the 1950s, little-to-no attention was paid to the spectacular views the area enjoyed. This now Ocean Ave Craftsman style cottage was one of the prime sites at the time, and all...
A4 Project Spotlight: Barrington Ranch House
Design magazines like to show aspirational projects that were built on empty sites with large budgets and lots of time to design and build. There is nothing wrong with such projects, but they are the exception rather than the rule. These projects are the architectural...
A4 Spotlight: Conanicut Yacht Club Awarded
After many years of using a converted farm shed as its "Tennis Hut," the membership of the Conanicut Yacht Club (CYC) decided to explore the possibility of upgrading its facilities. Under the leadership of the Commodore and a few key members, a group of architecture...
A4 Project Spotlight: Newport Home Featured Project – Seaverge Carriage House
A4 Architecture is pleased to announce that one of its projects completed during 2018 was selected for the cover of the annual Newport Home edition. Among the many hundreds of renovations and new construction projects completed each year in the Newport area during...
A4 Project Spotlight: King of Games or Game of Kings?
The players of this 45-minute match in Newport were Larry Phillips, Paul Weber, Prince Edward, and Marc Lewinstein. Last week, Newport played host to Prince Edward, Queen Elizabeth II’s youngest child. Edward is on a worldwide tour of Real Tennis courts as part of an...
A4 Project Spotlight: Newport’s Spring
A rendering by L + A Landscape Architecture shows the new public space that would be created from the Florence K. Murray Judicial Complex, at the left side of the image through to Spring Street. The preliminary design for the Newport Historic Spring Project was...
A4 Project Spotlight: Longwharf Renovation
Since the founding of Newport in 1637, Long Wharf has served as the major commercial axis of the city connecting Washington Square to the waterfront. In fact, when George Washington arrived in Newport to meet with General Rochambeau during the Revolutionary War, he...
Architect Spotlight: “My Architect” Louis Kahn
Newport is blessed with many beautiful and important structures which were built between the mid-seventeenth and beginning of the twentieth centuries. There have even been some great additions to the architectural fabric of Newport in the last few decades but during...
A4 Spotlight: 2025 Real Tennis World Championship
(Real Tennis World Championship Poster) This week, a sporting legacy unlike any other will be contested in Newport, Rhode Island, as the two best Real Tennis players in the world vie for the most historic title in sports. The 2025 Real Tennis World Championship, held...
A4 Spotlight: Richard Morris Hunt: In a New Light
Richard Morris Hunt (1827–1895) was a noted American architect who helped define the opulent architectural style of the Gilded Age, but was largely forgotten and neglected by twentieth-century academics. Now his work is being revisited, as demonstrated by the new...
A4 Spotlight: The History And Evolution Of The Elms Carriage House
The Elms Carriage Houses (Horrace Trumbauer, 1911) In Newport, Rhode Island, it is not just the main buildings that are historic landmarks. In some cases, the “accessory structures” are nearly equally important. The Elms Carriage House, for instance, is a...
A4 Spotlight: The Tower in Touro Park
Newport, Rhode Island’s oldest (and perhaps most mysterious) structure is not even a building. Nestled within the picturesque Touro Park in the center of town stands a circular stone tower, which has beguiled historians, romantics, and conspiracy theorists for...
A4 Spotlight: The Value of Experience
Andrea Palladio / Villa Rotunda (1571 Vicenza, Italy) What qualities should you look for in an architect? The decision to embark on a building project, whether for a home or a commercial space, is a significant undertaking filled with countless choices and potential...
A4 Spotlight: Finishing of Cedar Shingles
Weathered Shingle (Private Residence, Newport, RI) In New England, particularly in Newport, Rhode Island, many houses are designed in the Shingle Style. This style utilized split cedar shingles, which were abundant in New England, to provide sidewall coverage to...
A4 Spotlight: Malbone Castle and Estate
Still nestled amidst the verdant landscapes of Newport, Rhode Island, the Malbone Castle and Estate stands as a testament to centuries of architectural evolution and societal shifts. Its history tells a fascinating story of destruction, rebirth, and enduring grandeur,...
A4 Spotlight: Jackie Kennedy and Newport Architecture
Jacqueline Lee Bouvier Kennedy Onassis and Newport, Rhode Island, have been intertwined as icons of elegance and style for more than sixty years. Her deep connection to Newport began during her childhood summers, which were spent at Hammersmith Farm. This sprawling...
A4 Spotlight: Vehicle of Service
Level 01 Floor Plan of a Previous Project (Newport, RI) Architectural drawings are far more than aesthetic representations; within the framework of a construction project, they serve as critical vehicles of service from a contractual perspective. This designation...
A4 Spotlight: The Newport Cliff Walk
Surprisingly, Newport, Rhode Island’s most visited landmark is not a building, but an ancient path called “The Cliff Walk,” a 3.5-mile ribbon of walkway winding along the eastern and southern shoreline. Today, it is the city's most visited landmark, attracting over...
A4 Spotlight:1880 in Newport
The year 1880 stands out as a pivotal moment in the Gilded Age history of Newport, Rhode Island. In that year, two seminal events occurred that solidified its reputation as the preeminent summer destination for America’s social and financial elite. While the town had...
A4 Spotlight: Newport Casino: The Temple to Tennis
This year marks a new chapter in professional tennis in Newport, Rhode Island, where lawn tennis was first introduced to the American continent. For the first time, the Hall of Fame Open will include competition by both men and women, who will be competing for equal...