A4 Architecture Blog
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...
Newport Historical Spotlight: Newport’s History Walkthrough
There are few places in America where a person can see more National Historic Landmarks and other seminal structures than in Newport, Rhode Island. In a 60–90-minute walk, one can view important buildings from five different centuries while beginning to understand the...
Newport Spotlight: Tennis in Newport, RI
A4 Architecture was pleased to be a sponsor for the 2019 US Pro Singles Court Tennis tournament played from June 1st to June 8th at the Newport Casino Court in Newport, RI. Court tennis in Newport, RI has a history - The Newport Casino is also home to the...
Newport Historical Spotlight: The History of Newport’s Point
The 2019 Newport Architectural Symposium took place this past Saturday, May 25. The topic selected for the Symposium was “The Architecture and History of Newport’s Point Neighborhood.” There are really no areas of Newport that have a full spectrum of buildings from...
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...
A4 Guide: Suburban Zoning
For nearly forty years, Middletown has proscribed to zoning that requires businesses to set back from the street and encouraged parking lots to be placed in front of buildings. The end result, not surprisingly, was a sea of strip malls and an ocean of pylon signs...
A4 Guide: The Secretary of Interior Guidelines for Preservation
This past year has seen many instances where the issues of preservation and rehabilitation have been in the news and on people’s minds. For those who have not been through the procedure of presenting before the Historic District Commission (HDC), the process is...
A4 Spotlight: 2013 Doris Duke Preservation Awards
Newport Rhode Island is fortunate to have one of the most intact collections of important 18th, 19th, and early 20th century buildings anywhere in America. But these buildings have not survived to the present day simply by not being torn down (although that was a...
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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...
A4 Architecture Spotlight: The History and Urban Importance of Newport’s Long Wharf
Painting of Washington Square and Long Wharf - 1818 One of Newport, Rhode Island’s oldest and most important landmarks is not a building, but a road called “Long Wharf.” When Newport was first founded in 1639 it was settled based on two critical...
A4 Architecture Spotlight: The Rise and Fall of the American Pedestrian Malls Center
Pedestrian malls are areas of a city or town where cars are not allowed and pedestrians have free rein. Pedestrian malls became popular in the United States during the 1960s and 1970s as a way to try to revitalize downtown areas that were struggling due to...
A4 Architecture Spotlight: The Rise and Fall of the American Shopping Mall
For much of the twentieth century the shopping mall was the embodiment of American consumerism, a bastion of capitalism, and an icon of Consumer Economy. But as we approach the second decade of the 21st century, it's clear that the heyday of the shopping mall has come...
A4 Architecture Spotlight: Complete Streets
The concept of "Complete Streets" is a design approach that aims to make streets safer and more accessible for all users, including pedestrians, cyclists, public transport users, and motorists. The idea behind complete streets is to create a balanced transportation...
A4 Architecture Spotlight: Building Codes
The recent earthquakes in Turkey have once again highlighted the vital importance of building codes for disaster preparedness. As someone who has spent decades working in the architectural design industry, I can state that they are absolutely essential for ensuring...
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...