A4 Architecture Blog
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...
Preservation Society of Newport County
Before the founding of the Preservation Society, Newport was both very different than it once was as well as different from what it has now become. In 1945, the glories of the Gilded Age were long past, broken by the 4 sequential catastrophes of World War I, the...
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...
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...
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...
Salute to Architectural Clients
This is a salute to those people who choose to create special buildings and homes by serving as architectural clients. Undertaking the custom design and construction of a building is not easy, which is why so many people decide to just buy a “builder special,” – which...
Buying Architectural & Design Services
"Why is buying architectural and design services different than buying just about everything else?" When we buy most things we are consuming them relatively quickly. A restaurant meal is gone in an hour, a piece of clothing may last a year and even a vehicle may only...
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...
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...
Architectural Quotes
52 Great Architectural Quotes 26 Best Quotes About Design by Non-Architects “Architecture must honor three things: Strength. Function. Beauty.” --Vitruvius “Beauty perishes in life, but is immortal in art.” --Leonardo da Vinci “Architecture is frozen music.”...
2021 Rhode Island Historic Preservation Conference
Rhode Island is a state where historic architecture is a natural resource that helps make the state more attractive to both residents and visitors alike. Tourism is one of the state's central economic drivers. Katherine Warren, the Newport socialite who helped found...
Preserving Newport
As the Archi-TEXT column has pointed out many times, Newport is an extraordinary treasure trove of historic architecture, spanning from the early days of the Colonial settlement of New England and continuing right up until the present day. Newport is fortunate to be a...