A4 Architecture Blog
A4 Spotlight: The Block Island Times – “New Wine in Old Bottles”
In the Spring 2019 issue of House & Garden, a special publication by The Block Island Times, Ross Sinclair Cann wrote an article titled “New Wine in Old Bottles.” This article discusses effective ways to renovate old structures to current standards while...
Architecture Spotlight: Notre Dame and the Importance of Architecture
In the picture above, a crane is working on Notre-Dame cathedral in Paris, Friday, April 19, 2019. Rebuilding Notre Dame, the 800-year-old Paris cathedral devastated by fire last week, will cost billions of dollars as architects, historians and artisans work to...
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 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...
Architecture Spotlight: Rhode Island Lighthouses
A building type particular and special to the coastal areas, both around the United States and around the world, is the lighthouse. Built to aid in marine navigation and warn boats away from hazardous rock outcroppings, lighthouses have existed from the early days of...
Newport Architecture Spotlight: Heritage of Newport Architecture
Newport is a treasure trove of important architecture, from the time of the earliest European settlement of North America to the present day. This vast and irreplaceable portfolio is managed not just by the city or a single institution, but by a large and varied group...
Newport Architecture Spotlight: Washington Square – Heart of Newport Civic Life
Every great community needs a great gathering place, and for the last 350 years, Washington Square in Newport has been it's heart. Over time, the square had become a bit rundown and vacant of activity, but today the parts and pieces of this area are coming back...
Newport Architecture Spotlight: Gothic Revival
The Gothic Revival architectural style in Newport prominently showcased elaborate carved bargeboards at the gable ends, an asymmetrical plan, diamond pained windows and were often painted to resemble stone. Kingscote, specifically, holds its place in the Gothic...
Newport Architecture Spotlight: Greek Revival
The Captain Littlefield House is located on Historic Hill in Newport, Rhode Island. Its neighbors are other Greek Revival structures but have been done in a simpler tone. It was built by John Ladd in 1836, and is an especially exuberant version of the Greek Revival...
Newport Architecture Spotlight: Federal Period
With brick structures being popularized by Philadelphian townhouses and architecture, brick was a trend of the time and greatly available. The above picture shows the Samuel Whitehorne House, which was built in 1811. It is a great example of the federal period of...
Newport Architecture Spotlight: High Georgian
The Vernon House in Newport, Rhode Island is a stunning example of High Georgian design in a residential setting. Some trademark High Georgian characteristics are: steeply sloped hipped roof decorative balustrade at Widows walk large decorative door alternating curved...
Newport Architecture Spotlight: The Breakers
Newport has many grand homes, but there is none grander here (or really anywhere in America) than The Breakers. It is (ironically) called a “cottage,” not because it is small but because it was used for only the summer. The Breakers was designed by Richard Morris...
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...
A4 Guide: Newport Zoning
Before one can build in Newport, every project must pass a zoning review. Zoning regulations are rules adopted by governments to control the use, density, height, setbacks, and a myriad of other aspects of building. Starting in New York City in 1916, the use of...
Newport Spotlight: Historic Tax Credit Revived
This past week has been a notable one for historic preservation, as the long-idled Historic Tax Credit for restoring historic buildings was revived and passed by the state General Assembly. The new program is a modification of an earlier one that was in effect prior...
A4 Guide: Developing an Eye for Design
Developing an Eye for Design in Newport, Rhode Island Architects go beyond merely looking at the surface of a project to try and see through to the underlying issues. These are skills that translate across many professions and areas of interest. “Looking” is primarily...
A4 Guide: Public Spaces – Streets and Sidewalks
When most people think about the subject of "Public Spaces," streets and sidewalks are not the first thought - they will often immediately think of parks and public squares. The recent debate about and subsequent renovation of Queen Anne Square shows how much...
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...
Newport Spotlight: Newport County Complete Streets Policy
In 2010, the City Council pledged to make Newport a "Complete Streets" community and this largely unheralded event has slowly been changing the way public projects are designed. Complete Streets is a principle developed by the Smart Growth planning movement, and...
A4 Guide: Flood Preparation
Super Storm Sandy hit America forcefully, both in a physical and in a psychological way. Now that the New York/New Jersey area has been hit by major weather events not just in successive years but (with the winter storm Athena) in successive weeks, many are wondering...
A4 Guide: New Urbanism and Mixed-Use Development
“New Urbanism” is a term that has come into common usage after the foundation of the Congress for New Urbanism in 1993, but the ideas behind this concept are as old as cities themselves — it is just that we had forgotten the principles for a very long time. To...
Newport Spotlight: Return of Historic Tax Credits
Maintaining and restoring historic buildings is challenging, but it is often these structures that give character and form to beautiful communities like Newport. Thus, there is a strong societal and economic advantage for the government to help assure that these old...
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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...
A4 Guide: Induction Cooking
Imagine using a cooktop where the pot gets hot, but the stovetop remains cold. Imagine being able to boil water twice as fast as a gas range but without the danger of an open flame. Imagine reducing not only the toxic gases within your home but also reducing the...
A4 Guide: Pros and Cons of Natural Gas
Nearly everyone has come to the conclusion that global warming and severe climate change are both real and serious. Nearly 1/3 of California was listed as being at danger of fire, there are severe storms and flooding elsewhere in the country, and parts of the Arctic...
A4 Architecture Spotlight: Heat Pumps
One of the most interesting technological developments of the last decade, were improvements to heat pump systems. Unlike standard boilers of furnaces, which normally burn either by heating oil or natural gas to generate heat, heat pumps use either the ambient latent...