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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

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More from Old Structures Engineering

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

The Stunning Cliffside Home That Makes You Feel Like You’re Living in the Trees

Tucked into the northern shore of Lake Tremblant, Canada, La Flèche is a contemporary residence by MU Architecture that reinterprets the traditional chalet through bold geometry and material sensitivity. Designed as a multigenerational retreat, it offers a lasting connection to nature and family in Quebec’s Laurentian forest.

23 hours ago 2 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.

3 hours ago 1 votes
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

19 hours ago 1 votes
These Apartments Are Like Sculptures You Can Live In

In the heart of Brighton, Melbourne, Wood Marsh has delivered a fresh take on coastal living with Esplanade Brighton, a medium-density housing project that’s bold in form but deeply respectful of its surroundings. Set across a former brownfield site, the development includes 24 townhouses and 11 apartments spread over four distinct buildings, all woven into a lush native garden.

2 days ago 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