Newport Architecture Blog
The Evolution of the American Home in the Past Fifty Years
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...
A History of Newport Architecture in Four Parts: The Modern Era
Introduction: Newport is fortunate to be a treasury of great architecture from a wide variety of periods. By a combination of happy accident and hard work, unlike many places where great works of architecture have been lost to successive periods of growth, Newport has...
A History of Newport Architecture in Four Parts: The Gilded Age
Introduction: Newport is fortunate to be a treasury of great architecture from a wide variety of periods. By a combination of happy accident and hard work, unlike many places where great works of architecture have been lost to successive periods of growth, Newport has...
A History of Newport Architecture in Four Parts: Federalist & Early Victorian Era
Introduction: Newport is fortunate to be a treasury of great architecture from a wide variety of periods. By a combination of happy accident and hard work, unlike many places where great works of architecture have been lost to successive periods of growth, Newport has...
A History of Newport Architecture in Four Parts: Colonial Settlement
Introduction: Newport is fortunate to be a treasury of great architecture from a wide variety of periods. By a combination of happy accident and hard work, unlike many places where great works of architecture have been lost to successive periods of growth, Newport has...
Earth Day 2020: Turning Ugly Ducklings Into Swans While Creating Super Energy Efficient Buildings
Sometimes there is a swan hidden inside an ugly duckling. This Barrington house, built in the 1970's had a low ranch roof and google-eyed bay windows protruding asymmetrically. The new owners loved the magnificent sweeping views the site enjoyed of Narragansett Bay to...
Conanicut Yacht Club Racquets Facility Named Hut of the Month by Platform Tennis Magazine
After many years of using a converted farm shed as its ‘Tennis Hut’, the membership of the Conanicut Yacht Club decided to explore the possibility of upgrading its facilities. Under the leadership of the Commodore and a few key members, a group of architecture firms...
Adaptive Reuse and Redevelopment in Newport
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? Newport, because of its long history and...
Newport’s History: a Tale of Twelve Beautiful Streets
In Thornton Wilder’s famous final novel, Theophilus North, the author described Newport as “nine cities” — distinct communities that overlapped one another to form the entire “City by the Sea.” With apologies to Wilder, I’d like to increase that number to an even...
A Walk Through Newport History
There are few places in America where a person can see more National Historic Landmarks and other seminal structures than in Newport, Rhode Island. In a 60–90-minute walk one can view important buildings from five different centuries. Although there are a hundred...
A4 Architecture Supports Most Architectural of Sports, Tennis in Newport, RI
A4 Architecture was pleased to be a sponsor for the 2019 US Pro Singles Court Tennis tournament played from June 1st to June 8th at the Newport Casino Court in Newport, RI. This tournament brought together the top-ranked players in the world, including all 7 of the...
Archi-Tech: When to Hire an Architect
When planning a construction project, people often wonder if they need 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 it? Do...