A4 Architecture Blog
AI Chooses a Newport Architect
4 Barclay Square (A4 Architecture Before/After) The Rise of the Zero-Click Search Apparently, the era of Search Engine Optimization (SEO) is over. In the past, websites competed with one another to be found by Google, Bing, and Yahoo. Google, with more than 90% of the...
A4 Spotlight: The Publication Premium
Newport Life Cover Article (2019) The Invisible Premium: Magazine Publication Builds Lasting Property Value In the hierarchy of luxury real estate marketing, a full editorial spread in a prestigious publication is often regarded as the pinnacle of honor. But beyond...
A4 Architecture Spotlight: Deep Energy Retrofits
As energy costs rise and the awareness of rapid climate change grows, homeowners and building managers are increasingly considering deep energy retrofits (DERs), which are comprehensive upgrades that tackle insulation, windows, and heating and cooling systems all at...
A4 Spotlight: The History and Transformation of the White Horse Tavern
White Horse Tavern (South Elevation) The White Horse Tavern: The Evolution of a Newport Institution Few buildings in America carry as much history within their walls as the White Horse Tavern in Newport, Rhode Island. Standing on the corner of Farewell and Marlborough...
A4 Spotlight: The History and Transformation of Seaweed Cottage
Seaweed Cottage (c.1860) photographed from Spouting Rock Beach. Seaweed: A Newport Treasure Transformed Seaweed Cottage, perched dramatically above the Atlantic at the very southern end of Newport's celebrated Cliff Walk, stands as an example of a quietly...
A4 Spotlight: Rhode Island’s Housing Challenges and Efforts
Multifamily Project (Designed by A4 Architecture) Rhode Island has earned a very unwelcome distinction: it is the worst state in the nation in terms of housing production per capita. Over the last decade, it has had the lowest rate of total housing permits issued per...
A4 Spotlight: Getting Started
One of the biggest challenges for people who have not undertaken a renovation or new construction project before is figuring out how to get started. Some are tempted to skip the design process and just hire a contractor, but starting a construction project without a...
Architecture as Theater: The Staircases of Richard Morris Hunt
Richard Morris Hunt (1827–1895) is one of the most noteworthy architects of the last half of the 19th Century. One of his important contributions was transforming American architecture from a simple stacking of plans into a more three-dimensional synthesis of...
The Value of an Architect: Why Professional Design Pays for Itself
When planning a building project, whether a new home, a commercial space, or a significant renovation, the temptation of an owner to skip the architect and go straight to a contractor is understandable. Architects cost money, and budgets are tight, but this logic is...
A4 Spotlight: Seafair
Seafair: Newport's "Hurricane Hut" Located on the Ocean Drive in Newport, Rhode Island, Seafair, originally named Terre Mare, is a grand French château style mansion that has kept a quiet vigil over the Atlantic since its construction in 1935. This stone sentinel that...
A4 Spotlight: The Sherwood Lodge Transformation and History
Edward Willing House (Richard Morris Hunt, 1865) / Sherwood Lodge (Hoppin & Ely, c.1906) Many of the mansions of Newport have undergone major renovations as the owners' needs (and the styles of the times) have changed. Previous A4 Archi-TEXT articles have touched...
A4 Spotlight: The Original Breakers
(Colorized) Breakers designed by Peobody & Stearns (1878) Even today Newport is filled with Gilded Age mansions. But many of the grand houses that once existed from that time have been lost over time and still others have been replaced with different mansions,...