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I first started reading architectural theory and criticism when I was still an engineering undergrad student. It gave me a perspective on buildings that was notably different than that I was learning in my design and analysis classes, but because I was an outsider it took me a while to understand the biases contained within. […]
a year ago

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More from Old Structures Engineering

Top To Bottom

From Scientific American, December 8, 1894, an interesting view of two buildings: drawings that include both the above-ground portion of the buildings, more or less as you would see them, and the foundations as they could never be seen. The foundations are seen as if the earth had been turned transparent. The image of the […]

6 months ago 61 votes
Happy Christmas

I’m not so sure about that vest.

6 months ago 56 votes
Genteel

That’s the Hotel Marlborough at 36th Street and Broadway, shortly after 1900. The hotel opened in 1888 when the entertainment district on Broadway was further south; by the time it was demolished in 1922, that district had moved to Times Square, a few blocks to the north. It’s a story repeated for hundreds of buildings […]

6 months ago 58 votes
Once Again, In Plastic

The restoration of Notre Dame deserves all the praise that has been heaped upon it, but have I mentioned recently that my son and I have built the LEGO Notre Dame? We finished our small Notre Dame about a week after the official opening of the large one, but they had a head start on […]

6 months ago 53 votes
It Looked Familiar: Archetypical

From a graphic novel about art called Naked City: how do you capture the spirit of New York? A relentless grid and Old-Law tenements.

6 months ago 60 votes

More in architecture

Open Borders

A border is an idea so powerful that we never even have to see it to believe it. Or believe in it. Global borders can be sites of peace and conflict, violence and celebration, opportunity and confinement. And borders as they exist today – which is to say, increasingly militarized and clearly defined – are

22 hours ago 1 votes
The Irony of Nigeria’s Resilient Democracy and Growing Legacy of Urban Tyranny

Planning policies reflect a deep disdain for the poor, prioritizing elite aesthetics over social equity.

6 hours ago 1 votes
Outdoor Seating You’d Actually Want to Visit: Where Nature Is Wrapped in a Whimsical Birdcage

At the heart of San Francisco’s Mission Rock development, The Garden Party by Min Design transforms a bustling pedestrian path into something softer, slower, and more inviting.

yesterday 2 votes
Andrés Duany and Others on the Legacy of Léon Krier

With tributes from Witold Rybczynski, Gerhard W. Mayer, James Howard Kuntsler, and Jeff Speck.

2 days ago 2 votes
Exploring A House and Barn Where Raw Materials Meet Scenic Views

Worrell Yeung has designed a two-part retreat in the wooded hills of Columbia County, New York, for a young family looking to connect with the landscape. Set on an 88-acre ridgeline, the project includes Ridge House and Ridge Barn, two structures that balance clean architecture with raw, expressive materials. Blending land art, local references, and a pared-back palette, the Brooklyn-based studio created a place that feels both grounded and quietly sculptural.

3 days ago 3 votes