A4 Architecture Blog
A4: Introduction to Touro Synagogue
Newport is famous for many things and for many “firsts” as it was the fifth largest city in colonial America and a major and prosperous settlement before the Revolutionary War. Among the things that Newport takes great pride in for is being a place of tremendous...
A4- Welcome to Newport
Newport has long had the reputation of being the pre-eminent “Summer Resort” in the North Eastern United States. It is famous in books and movies as being “the place to be” in the summer from the 1870’s through the present day. But how did Newport come to be known as...
A4 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 / 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 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...
A4 and 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 and 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,...
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...
Car Museum Project
Sometimes at the beginning of a project the client comes to the architect with a project goal that seems like it just might be too challenging or insolvable. When a husband and wife pair of car collectors had purchased an old plumbing warehouse and wanted to convert...
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...
George Champlin Mason Sr.
Among the many great architects who have worked in Newport, RI over the years, George Champlin Mason Sr. is perhaps the greatest and most prolific “Home-Grown” talent. He was born in 1820 in Newport to a prominent family and was the great nephew of Oliver Hazard...
Old Colony House
Newport is a place of authentic architectural monuments and living history. The houses of the Point and Historic Hill have been in many cases occupied for as long as 250-300 years. That means that potentially 50-60 generations of people have lived, raised their...