Category Archives: Urbanism

An Oldie But Goodie—sung to the tune of “I Am the Very Model of a Modern Major General”

by John Massengale Posted on March 27, 2014

COLUMBIA ARCHITECTURE PROFESSOR and architectural historian Ken Frampton was once asked about “the cult of New Urbanism.” It’s “ersatz kitsch colonialism for the modern middle class”, he said. Faced with a statement like that, what can one do except write … Continue reading →

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Two types of architecture: good architecture, and the other kind

by John Massengale Posted on January 17, 2014

                    THE ARCHITECTURE CRITIC for New York magazine wrote about the work of Robert A.M. Stern in an article entitled Unfashionably Fashionable. I commented: “There are two kinds of music,” Duke … Continue reading →

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Glass House Conversation: Traditional versus Modern

by John Massengale Posted on February 11, 2013

A YEAR OR SO AGO, I was invited to take part in a discussion on Traditional and Modern architecture at theglasshouse.org that was framed like this: Traditional versus modern architecture; Proponents of traditional architecture cite a preference for historical styles. Modernist … Continue reading →

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Urban Architecture & An Architecture of Place

by John Massengale Posted on April 18, 2008

CitiField has no city, and the Metropolitans have no metropolis. OVER AT DESIGN OBSERVER, the great Michael Bierut wrote a good piece on baseball parks that I thought was a little too quick to equate traditional design with “nostalgia” while … Continue reading →

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Second Annual Slouching Towards Alphaville Award

by John Massengale Posted on March 23, 2007

An old post from Veritas & Venustas: It’s cold. It’s winter. It’s minus 20 degrees, an arctic wind is blowing in from the Russian steppes, and you’re walking on the biggest street in Moscow. Above you in the swirling snow … Continue reading →

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V&V: Yankees To Ask New York For $300 Million For Stadium Work

by John Massengale Posted on August 8, 2004

When the richest team in baseball asks New York City and New York State for $300 million to stay in a place they would never leave (they are the Bronx Bombers, after all, about to set an all-time major league … Continue reading →

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V&V: Making A Neighborhood Around Yankee Stadium — Designs By University of Miami Architecture Students

by John Massengale Posted on August 1, 2004

These are the plans referred to in the post above. They were designed by architecture students at the University of Miami in 1998. Click on the plans for larger images. From that post, Yankees To Ask New York For $300 … Continue reading →

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Muschamp on Ground Zero: It’s Houston, And We Have A Problem

by John Massengale Posted on February 22, 2004

THE MAIN ENTRANCE to the 911 Memorial Museum looks like the exit from a cineplex in a suburban shopping mall. It is unworthy of New York and a sad commentary on how little we achieved at Ground Zero after a … Continue reading →

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Harvard’s architects say: How about us?

by John Massengale Posted on December 19, 2003

The Boston Globe is online at http://boston.com/, and the article “Harvard’s architects say: How about us?” can be bought from the online archives for $2.95. I have put selected portions of the article below. By Alex Beam, Globe Columnist, December … Continue reading →

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