A4 Architecture Blog
A4 Guide: HVAC Technology for Old Buildings
Even in old buildings, new technologies can be extremely beneficial. One relatively new HVAC technology that is becoming more popular each year is called “Ground source geothermal heat pump.” Rather than drawing its heat from either electricity or a fuel source, it...
A4 Spotlight: 2020 Doris Duke Preservation Awards
Newport is fortunate to not only have buildings by many notable architects, but to have some of their very best works as well. But because Newport was graced with so many beautiful, old buildings, the care and maintenance of these structures has fallen heavily upon a...
A4 Guide: Adaptive Reuse and Redevelopment
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? Rhode Island in general, and Newport in...
A4 Guide: Virtual Spaces
In the midst of the COVID pandemic everything seems to be virtual. Virtual school, virtual work, and virtual meetings now dominate many of our lives. This has been made possible largely by the development of the high-speed internet and servers powerful enough to...
Newport Architecture Spotlight: Newport’s Lost Grand Hotels
Even in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic, Newport is in the middle of a building boom with multiple hotel proposals before the various boards and commissions of Newport and Middletown and two new hotels, Hammett’s Wharf and The Brenton, have just recently opened...
Newport Architecture Spotlight: The Newport Casino
Newport is a treasure trove of architecture from multiple eras including the Colonial, the Victorian, and the Gilded Age. If one had to pick a single building that most epitomizes the city's history and character you would be hard pressed to make a better selection...
Newport Architecture Spotlight: Lost Newport County Theatres
As we huddle in our homes waiting for the COVID-19 pandemic to end, it is inevitable that we think back on all the things we have been denying ourselves with a romantic nostalgia. One of those things is going to the theatre in a throng of people, gazing about with...
A4 Guide: Innovative Designs Responding to COVID
The first real impact of the COVID-19 pandemic in the United States came barely four months ago with a huge spike of cases in New York City, resulting in an economic shut down and closing of in person classes at most schools and colleges. It almost seems like years...
A4 Guide: The Philosophy of Architecture
Architecture has a vocabulary and grammar. Architecture is a craft. Architecture is a profession. Architecture is an art. But at its very foundation, architecture must be based on a core philosophy upon which options must be reviewed and decisions selected. Vitruvius...
A4 Guide: The Value of Design
Many people mistakenly think that design is simply the decoration that is added on top of a project to help make it beautiful. Design is, in reality, the planning that makes a building or space function well, last longer and cost less to operate. While the average...
A4 Guide: Retail during COVID
With the advent of the COVID-19 virus, everything in our world changed. One thing that is very different is the nature of shopping. This has been undergoing change with the rise of the internet but the pandemic accelerated this change. Gone are the days when shopping...
A4 Spotlight: Newport’s North End Plan
The staff of A4 Architecture and the members of the Newport Architectural Forum were given the opportunity to see a preview of the North End Plan being conducted by NBBJ. Through a Zoom call held on Tuesday, June 30th, Principal Alan Mountjoy showed the extensive work...