A4 Architecture Blog
A4 Guide: Understanding Complete Streets
As we approach the one-year anniversary of the Washington Square Charrette it is useful to revisit the primary recommendations and review what developments have occurred and what other complementary efforts are underway. Change comes slowly and sometimes the most...
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...
Newport Architecture Spotlight: Rosecliff and the Newport Flower Show
Newport is famous for its grand buildings, many of which are both extravagant and unique. Many of the grand mansions on Bellevue Avenue in particular were created more for entertaining than for living as some of these grand "summer cottages" were used for only 6-8...
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...
Newport Architecture Spotlight: Washington Square
Newport has been many things over its lifetime: a Gilded Age resort, a post World War II Navy town, and today, an important destination for historic tourism. But at one time Newport was a small colonial village that was made prosperous by its excellent harbor and...
Newport Spotlight: The Value of Newport – Historic Assets
Newport is a special place but sometimes it is easy for those who live here to forget just how special. In helping write the summary of the Washington Square Community Charrette report, based upon the Value Setting and Charrette process that more than three hundred...
Newport Spotlight: Events Around Town
This week was a busy one for architectural programming in Newport. On Wednesday, March 6 at Rosecliff, a panel was convened to discuss the state of the Newport Historic Urban Plan initiative. John Tschirch served as moderator and four of the project’s scholarly...
Newport Spotlight: Tennis History Lives on in Newport
Everyone knows that Rhode Island is the smallest state in the union in terms of size but in the world of tennis we have historically stood very tall indeed. In terms of tennis history, Newport, Rhode Island is the place to be. It is the site of one of the oldest...
Newport Architecture Spotlight: Urban Theatre
Once upon a time, to see a musical performance, a play, or a movie, one had to convene with other people in a large building called a theatre. Now, with the rapid advance of technology, we can get our information and entertainment on televisions, computers,...
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A4 Guide: Roundabouts
Many architects are also urban planners because buildings are just a piece of a larger “architectural fabric” that is our towns and cities. Urban Design is a specialty in of itself because many of the elements of the process are different than the design of individual...
A4 Guide: Historic Roofs
Architecture began when primitive mankind put a branch between two posts and then hung it with leaves to try to keep the rain out. Some of the Iroquois Long Houses were just long branches bent into an arch and then covered in bark. The desire to keep the water out and...
A4 Guide: Blog Power
A4 Architecture started a blog more than 10 years ago when the concept of a web log (or “Blog” for short) was a novel and unusual thing, particularly for an architect. Back then, building owners still found their architects by looking in the “yellow pages”, which is...
A4 Guide: Climate Change
The world is in trouble. The only question is just how much trouble. This past week, the United Nations panel on climate change announced to the world the reality of the climate crisis we are facing now and in the inevitable future. The Intergovernmental Panel on...
A4 Spotlight: Hope Funds
A4 Architecture has had the honor and pleasure of designing all of the Hope Funds Award of Excellence Galas since 2007. Their events have been in all over, but they keep returning to host in beautiful Newport. Events are hosted in the historic mansions of Newport,...
A4 Spotlight: Newport Bridge Realignment
The long-awaited construction and redesign of the main roads connecting the Pell Bridge to Newport has commenced after more than a decade of planning. The goal of the project and reconfiguration of the roads surrounding this area is to improve traffic flow and to help...
Newport Architecture Spotlight: Tennis at the Newport Casino
When the Newport Casino was first built in 1880, the game of lawn tennis was a new but quickly growing sport. The game had been derived from the more complicated and architecturally involved game now known as Real Tennis, which had been invented in the 13th century in...
Newport Architecture Spotlight: Old Colony House
Reading of the Declaration of Independence on the Fourth of July Newport is a place of authentic architectural monuments and living history. The houses of the Point and Historic Hill neighborhoods have been in many cases occupied for as long as 250-300 years. That...
Newport Architecture Spotlight: Rough Point
Newport is filled with great buildings that have been modified over time, either by other great architects or which were replaced by buildings that today the Historic District Commission would no longer allow to be replaced. This means we might have had the old...
A4 Project Spotlight: Ocean Ave Craftsman
When houses were laid out in a small residential development called Chartier Circle back in the 1950s, little-to-no attention was paid to the spectacular views the area enjoyed. This now Ocean Ave Craftsman style cottage was one of the prime sites at the time, and all...
A4 Guide: Newport Architectural Forum
Newport, as many historians have noted over the years, is an architectural treasure chest. From the Colonial Era, to early Victorian, to the Gilded Age, and finally, to present times, Newport has an amazing breadth and depth of architectural gems for a community that...
A4 Guide: 13 Ways to Scare Away your Architect
There are things that a client can say that will scare a good architect and/or contractor away without you even realizing it. Here are 13 things I have heard said either directly or indirectly over the years that scared me or another professional away. They are a...