A4 Architecture Blog

A4 Guide: Vitruvian Ideals

A4 Guide: Vitruvian Ideals

What qualities make architecture successful? This is a debate that has no doubt been going on since mankind first moved out of caves and started creating rudimentary structures in which to live. Interestingly, even in a world of skyscrapers and modern technology one...

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A4 Guide: Legacy Houses

A4 Guide: Legacy Houses

Ⓒ Nick Mele When most architectural projects are designed, they are created to meet a specific purpose over a particular period of time. A store might be designed to be depreciated over the period of the lease; a hotel might be designed to capture the attention of the...

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A4 Guide: Feasibility Analysis

A4 Guide: Feasibility Analysis

When you want to do a construction or renovation project but you are not sure it is even possible, what can a property owner do? This is a situation that many of our potential clients come to us with. We have developed an approach to help these people called the “Site...

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A4 Guide: The Why of Me

A4 Guide: The Why of Me

The Why of Me: “Why do each of us do what we do, and why do we do it where we do it?” are questions everyone can examine closely and find interesting discoveries about their past and realizations about who they are. A long time ago, I was just a boy from suburbia who...

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A4 Guide: Being A Good Client

A4 Guide: Being A Good Client

Many people never give even the slightest consideration to “being a good client,” but they are lessening the quality of work they are receiving and probably increasing their cost of service without realizing it. While this is written from the perspective of...

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A4 Guide: Architect Fees

A4 Guide: Architect Fees

“How much does an architect cost?” This is inevitably one of the first questions that people who have not worked before with an architect will ask. But anyone who asks this question is looking at their situation entirely the wrong way round. A better question you...

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A4 Spotlight: The Fountainhead, revisited

A4 Spotlight: The Fountainhead, revisited

In a recent blog about the evolution of “The Ideal Architect" over time, it’s not just real architects who play a role, but fictional ones as well. Howard Roark, the protagonist of Ayn Rand's 1943 novel The Fountainhead, stands as a towering figure in literary...

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A4 Event: A Tour of Boxcroft by McKim, Mead & White

A4 Event: A Tour of Boxcroft by McKim, Mead & White

Located on Red Cross Avenue in Newport, Rhode Island, the Samuel Colman House—more famously known as Boxcroft—stands as a prominent example of the Shingle Style, one of the most distinctive artistic and architectural achievements of the Gilded Age. Designed between...

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A4 Event: A Tour and History of The Elms’ Grounds

A4 Event: A Tour and History of The Elms’ Grounds

On May 15, 2025, as part of its ongoing educational mission, Jim Donahue—the Curator of Historic Landscapes at the Preservation Society of Newport County (PSNC)—led a tour for members of the PSNC and the Newport Architectural Forum of the grounds of The Elms Mansion....

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A4 Spotlight: Partner in Preservation: The Newport Art Museum

A4 Spotlight: Partner in Preservation: The Newport Art Museum

The Newport Art Museum is a vibrant cultural hub at the heart of Newport, Rhode Island’s artistic community. It has a rich history that mirrors the city’s own evolution as a center for artistic and intellectual pursuits. Its journey began over a century ago with the...

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A4 Spotlight: Partner in Preservation: International Tennis Hall of Fame

A4 Spotlight: Partner in Preservation: International Tennis Hall of Fame

There are many institutions in Newport, Rhode Island, that boast outstanding architectural monuments, and one of the most important is the International Tennis Hall of Fame. This institution traces its origins to 1879, when the flamboyant publisher of the New York...

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A4 Spotlight: Partner in Preservation: The Preservation Society of Newport County

A4 Spotlight: Partner in Preservation: The Preservation Society of Newport County

The Preservation Society of Newport County (PSNC) stands today as one of America's foremost architectural preservation organizations, safeguarding a collection of 11 properties that span the rich social and architectural history of Newport, Rhode Island. Its...

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A4 Spotlight: Arbor Day

A4 Spotlight: Arbor Day

Arbor Day, a celebration of trees and a call to action for planting them, will be observed this year on April 25. This annual event has a rich history, rooted in one visionary’s concern for the environment and the well-being of future generations. In 1872, Julius...

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