A4 Architecture Blog
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...
Newport Spotlight: The Artful City
In a world dominated by thirty-second sound bites, YouTube videos, and dueling town halls on T.V., what good are books? And what good then are book reviews? Well books have a gravitas and permanence that fleeting video clips can never have. The Redwood Library has...
A4 Spotlight: Adaptive Reuse Honor for A4
A4 Architecture is pleased to have received many awards and recognition throughout the years. The latest award we have received is the “Best Adaptive Reuse Architecture Specialists - North Atlantic USA 2020” from Corporate Vision Magazine for our work on a wide...
A4 Guide: Evolution of Windows
Among the most central features that help define the style and character of a building are its windows. The size, number, shape, and construction of the windows each play a part in the perception of the building from outside the building and determine its connection...
A4 Spotlight: Adaptive Reuse at Salve Regina University
What do you do when you are a thriving university set in one of the most historic and noteworthy neighborhoods in America? In the case of Salve Regina University, you get as creative with adaptive reuse as you can. Set within the Ochre Point neighborhood of Newport,...
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? Rhode Island in general, and Newport in...
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 Spotlight: The Artful City
In a world dominated by thirty-second sound bites, YouTube videos, and dueling town halls on T.V., what good are books? And what good then are book reviews? Well books have a gravitas and permanence that fleeting video clips can never have. The Redwood Library has...
A4 Spotlight: Adaptive Reuse Honor for A4
A4 Architecture is pleased to have received many awards and recognition throughout the years. The latest award we have received is the “Best Adaptive Reuse Architecture Specialists - North Atlantic USA 2020” from Corporate Vision Magazine for our work on a wide...
A4 Spotlight: Adaptive Reuse at Salve Regina University
What do you do when you are a thriving university set in one of the most historic and noteworthy neighborhoods in America? In the case of Salve Regina University, you get as creative with adaptive reuse as you can. Set within the Ochre Point neighborhood of Newport,...
A4 Spotlight: 2020 Doris Duke Preservation Awards
Newport is fortunate to not only have buildings by many notable architects, but to have some of their very best works as well. But because Newport was graced with so many beautiful, old buildings, the care and maintenance of these structures has fallen heavily upon a...
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? Rhode Island in general, and Newport in...
A4 Guide: The Value of Design
Many people mistakenly think that design is simply the decoration that is added on top of a project to help make it beautiful. Design is, in reality, the planning that makes a building or space function well, last longer and cost less to operate. While the average...
A4 Guide: Retail during COVID
With the advent of the COVID-19 virus, everything in our world changed. One thing that is very different is the nature of shopping. This has been undergoing change with the rise of the internet but the pandemic accelerated this change. Gone are the days when shopping...
A4 Spotlight: Newport’s North End Plan
The staff of A4 Architecture and the members of the Newport Architectural Forum were given the opportunity to see a preview of the North End Plan being conducted by NBBJ. Through a Zoom call held on Tuesday, June 30th, Principal Alan Mountjoy showed the extensive work...
Newport Spotlight: Newport North End Design Guidelines
The Newport North End is currently undergoing a design process for one of the most significant planning initiatives to occur since the construction of the Pell Bridge and the insertion of the America’s Cup Avenue through the city’s historic waterfront in the late...
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...
No Results Found
The page you requested could not be found. Try refining your search, or use the navigation above to locate the post.
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...
2023 Doris Duke Preservation Awards
Newport is fortunate to not only have buildings by many notable architects, but to be home to some of their very best works as well. But because Newport has been graced with so many beautiful, old buildings, the care and maintenance of these structures has fallen...
A4 Architectural Spotlight: Newport National Register of Historic Places
White Horse Tavern As any regular reader of the A4 Architecture blog well knows, Newport, Rhode Island is a city with a rich history dating back to its founding in 1639. At the date of the Declaration of Independence, it was the fifth-most populace city in the...
A4 Spotlight: The Increasing Importance of Street Trees
In a world where the impacts of climate change are becoming increasingly evident, the importance of street trees cannot be overstated. As temperatures rise rapidly due to the alarming effects of climate change, these urban sentinels play a crucial role in mitigating...
A4 Architectural Spotlight: Newport National Historic Landmarks
The Brick Market Newport, Rhode Island is a city with a rich history dating back to its founding in 1639. At the date of the Declaration of Independence, it was the fifth-most populace city in the American colonies and a major center of trade and commerce. As a...
A4 Architecture Spotlight: Kingscote Mansion
A4 Architectural Spotlight: Kingscote Mansion In Newport, houses were frequently built at one moment in time and then modified and expanded later. As a result, their histories can mirror that of the city itself and of broader architectural evolution as well....
Newport Architecture Spotlight: Fort Adams
Aerial view of Fort Adams In the Colonial era, Newport was one of the most populous and prosperous cities in North America. It was a major deep-water port and a thriving shipping center. In December of 1776 the British Fleet sailed into Newport harbor and took...