A4 Architecture Blog
Newport Architecture Spotlight: Newport’s Lost Grand Hotels
Even in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic, Newport is in the middle of a building boom with multiple hotel proposals before the various boards and commissions of Newport and Middletown and two new hotels, Hammett’s Wharf and The Brenton, have just recently opened...
Newport Architecture Spotlight: The Newport Casino
Newport is a treasure trove of architecture from multiple eras including the Colonial, the Victorian, and the Gilded Age. If one had to pick a single building that most epitomizes the city's history and character you would be hard pressed to make a better selection...
Newport Architecture Spotlight: Lost Newport County Theatres
As we huddle in our homes waiting for the COVID-19 pandemic to end, it is inevitable that we think back on all the things we have been denying ourselves with a romantic nostalgia. One of those things is going to the theatre in a throng of people, gazing about with...
A4 Guide: The Philosophy of Architecture
Architecture has a vocabulary and grammar. Architecture is a craft. Architecture is a profession. Architecture is an art. But at its very foundation, architecture must be based on a core philosophy upon which options must be reviewed and decisions selected. Vitruvius...
A4 Guide: The Positive Impact of Sustainable Architecture
We live in a time of change and challenge. Things around us seem overwhelming and beyond our control. Between an unseen virus, long and simmering societal tensions, and global climate change, we seem buffeted at all sides. But there are things each of us can do to...
A4 Guide: Evolution of the American Home
Our homes have always been our castles, but never more so than during the COVID-19 stay-at-home orders. Our homes have become our schools, our offices, our restaurants, and our movie theaters. In this time of change it is inevitable that we should think about all the...
Newport Architecture Spotlight: Modern Newport Architecture
Newport is fortunate to be a treasury of great architecture from a wide variety of periods. By a combination of happy accident and hard work, unlike many places where great works of architecture have been lost to successive periods of growth, Newport has maintained...
Newport Architecture Spotlight: The Gilded Age
Newport is fortunate to be a treasury of great architecture from a wide variety of periods. By a combination of happy accident and hard work, unlike many places where great works of architecture have been lost to successive periods of growth, Newport has maintained...
Newport Architecture Spotlight: Federalist and Early Victorian Era
Newport is fortunate to be a treasury of great architecture from a wide variety of periods. By a combination of happy accident and hard work, unlike many places where great works of architecture have been lost to successive periods of growth, Newport has maintained...
Newport Architecture Spotlight: Colonial Settlement
Newport is fortunate to be a treasury of great architecture from a wide variety of periods. By a combination of happy accident and hard work, unlike many places where great works of architecture have been lost to successive periods of growth, Newport has maintained...
A4 Guide: Adaptive Reuse and Redevelopment
Sometimes old buildings outlive the reason for their original construction and yet they are beloved structures that are an important part of the local history and architectural fabric. What is to be done with these buildings? Newport, because of its long history and...
Newport Historical Spotlight: Twelve Beautiful Streets
In Thornton Wilder’s famous final novel, Theophilus North, the author described Newport as “nine cities” — distinct communities that overlapped one another to form the entire “City by the Sea.” With apologies to Wilder, I’d like to increase that number to an even...
A4 Spotlight: Earth Day
Sometimes, there is a swan hidden inside an ugly duckling. This Barrington house, built in the 1970s, had a low ranch roof and googly-eyed bay windows protruding asymmetrically. The new owners loved the magnificent, sweeping views the site enjoyed of Narragansett Bay...
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 Guide: Archi-Tech – When to Hire an Architect
When planning a construction project, people often wonder if they need to hire an architect. The answer depends upon many different factors. Is it a residential or commercial project? Do you want to add to the building, substantially rearrange it or simply redecorate...
A4 Spotlight: Ross Cann – Principal Architect
Ross Cann stands with one of his designs, the Seaverge Carriage House. Bontena Brand Network interviews Ross Cann, Founder and Principal Architect of A4 Architecture + Planning. This interview gives a brief understanding of Ross, beginning with his education which...
A4 Spotlight: Newport Restoration Foundation
Rough Point, built in a baronial style from quarried stone, was the Dukes' home in Newport. Doris Duke's Restoration Foundation will celebrate its golden anniversary with many special activities. Newport is fortunate to have buildings that feature some of the best...
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...
A4 Guide: Be Ready for Future Floods
This view of Bowen's Wharf from a few years ago shows the dramatic reality of floodwaters during a coastal storm. (Photo provided by Ross Sinclair Cann) It often takes a Nor’easter like last week to remind people in coastal communities that the beautiful vistas we...
A4 Architecture: Our Beginnings
In 2004, after many years of working for clients under umbrellas of other firms, our managing director, Ross Cann, felt it was the opportune time to directly provide commercial, institutional, and residential clients the highest quality design, service, and value. And...
Newport Architecture Spotlight: Public Spaces of Newport
When most people think about the idea of “Public Spaces” in Newport, they will often immediately think of parks and public squares. While parks like Touro Park, Queen Anne Square, and Washington Square serve an important role as visual punctuation to the buildings,...
A4 Spotlight: Newport World Heritage Site Status
This column has often argued that Newport is blessed with a broad and deep cultural and architectural heritage. From the city’s rich concentration of colonial houses along Spring Street and in the Point District, to the extraordinary collection of Greek revival, Queen...
Historical Spotlight: A New Addition to the National Register
This column has often lovingly called Newport the “Metropolitan Museum of Architecture” for the breadth and depth of its collection of important buildings from the colonial times through the early part of the nineteenth century. This audacious claim is based upon the...
A4 Guide: Choosing an Architect or Contractor
The last five years have been a quiet time for building construction and design in the United States. According to the US Census Bureau, the volume of construction in the last 5 years is nearly 30% less than the previous five years and is still lower today than it was...
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A4 Architecture Spotlight: Hope Funds at Marble House
A4 Architecture Spotlight: The Hope Funds Galas in the Newport Mansions All photos by Julie Skarratt The grand mansions built during the Gilded Age in Newport Rhode Island were designed with one primary purpose in mind: to allow their owners to entertain lavishly....
Newport Casino: The American Temple to Tennis
Bellevue Avenue Facade of the Newport Casino Next week the eyes of the tennis world will be on Newport as many of the players from Wimbledon will be competing in the Infosys Hall of Fame Open. This is the only ATP men’s tournament played on grass in North...
A4 Architecture Spotlight: The Pell
The Pell Lobby In 1756, the poet Robert Burns allegedly wrote the poem “To a Mouse” on the spot for a mouse whose burrow he had disturbed while plowing his field. It included the famous line “The best laid schemes of Mice and Men/oft go awry.” When A4 Architecture,...
A4 Spotlight: Fairbourne and Thomas Alexander Tefft
Fairbourne House, previously known as "Quatrel" Over its long history, from its founding in 1639 to the present day, Newport has been a destination for some of the most noteworthy architects in America. Some like Richard Morris Hunt and McKim, Mead, &...
The US Pro Singles at the National Tennis Club located at the Newport Casino
Camden Riviere Serving Hidden at the back of the International Tennis Hall of Fame located at the Newport Casino (194 Bellevue Avenue in Newport, Rhode Island) is one of the rare existing examples of an eight-hundred-year-old sport called Real Tennis, which is...
A4 Spotlight: The Grand Tour
Historically “The Grand Tour” of Europe was a cultural and educational journey undertaken by well-to-do young Englishmen from the 17th to the 19th centuries. It was considered an essential part of their education, particularly for those aspiring to become architects....
A4 Spotlight: Rose Island Lighthouse License Plate
License Plate Design - Final Part of being an architect is helping support the community. Over the years Ross Cann, RA, AIA, the founding principle of A4 Architecture has served on more than two dozen Newport of Rhode Island boards, committees, or commissions....
The A4 Architectural Words of Wisdom
The A4 Architectural Words of Wisdom After being a licensed architect for thirty years (which is even more amazing considering how long it takes to become licensed), I am taking the liberty of sharing some thoughts and quotations that I have developed over that time....
LEED-ing the Way
LEED-ing the Way - Cover Page The first step in making buildings more sustainable is to establish and then encourage best practices. In 1993 the U.S. Green Building Council, spearheaded by Natural Resource Defense Council scientist Robert K Watson, established...
The A4 Architecture Project Guide
The A4 Architecture Project Guide For people beginning their first design and construction project there is often a sense of fear and ignorance. They know that the process is going to be challenging and they may have heard stories of schedule delays and budget...
Newport Architecture Spotlight: The Old Brick Market
Brick Market Front Façade - Newport, RI At the center of historic Newport, Rhode Island sits the Brick Market. This structure is an important historic building and was designed by the renowned architect Peter Harrison in 1762. Peter Harrison (1716-1775) was an...
A4 Spotlight: Transportation Oriented Development
A4 Architecture Gateway Design in Newport, RI -Transportation Oriented Development Transportation Oriented Development (TOD) is an urban planning and design concept that emphasizes the integration of land use and transportation to create walkable, mixed-use...