Tag: architecture

  • The Pandemic’s Influence on Home Design

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    Brendan Barry
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    I took last week off for the Orthodox Easter holiday. But I am back now. For some of the time I was away, I stayed at an old stone farmhouse that the owners renovated into a short-term rental. That made me think about what I would want or need in my own space. Of course…

  • Ventfort Hall

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    Brendan Barry
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    On the last day of my trip I took some time to visit two Gilded Age mansions, called “cottages”, though they are anything but the image the word cottage conjures in my mind. Ventfort Hall, the subject of today’s post, was the cottage of Sarah Morgan, sister of J.P. Morgan. Yeah, that J.P. Morgan. So…

  • Philadelphia’s Changing Skyline

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    Brendan Barry
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    Yesterday I mentioned how I spent Monday researching some old family properties in Philadelphia. In some cases the homes my family owned still stand. But, in many others the homes have long since been replaced. But that’s the nature of city development. That got me thinking about an article published earlier this month at Philadelphia…

  • The Fire at Notre Dame Cathedral: Part Trois

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    Brendan Barry
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    On Tuesday I talked about a small article published by the New York Times that looked at the cathedral fire. I lamented that there were no immediate graphics explaining what happened. Just give me two days. Tuesday we had the BBC piece and then yesterday the New York Times published a more extensive look. As the user…

  • Revealing the Past Through a Heatwave

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    Brendan Barry
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    The United Kingdom has been…well, enjoying is not the right word for me, so let’s just say witnessing a heatwave. And it is having some unexpected consequences. In short, things like grass will behave differently in extreme conditions when planted on soil vs. when growing atop stone, wood, or other non-natural features. This helps identify…

  • Rotting Wooden Beams

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    Brendan Barry
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    Earlier this week a balcony collapse in Berkeley, California killed six Irish students. The building had only been finished in 2007 and was barely ten years old. While the investigation is ongoing, the Los Angeles Times reported on what might have been the cause: dry rot. Credit for the piece goes to Rong Gong-Lin II.

  • The American Shopping Mall

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    Brendan Barry
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    This past weekend Al-Shabab, the Al Qaeda affiliate based in Somalia, threatened shopping malls in the United States, Canada, and the United Kingdom. This threat carries a certain amount of weight given the deadly attack Al-Shabab launched against the Westgate Shopping Mall in Nairobi, Kenya a few years ago. So what to look at today?…

  • Building to View London

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    Brendan Barry
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    A little while back, the Economist posted an interesting slideshow piece that showcased the intricacies of London’s skyscraper problem and how many areas are restricted to preserve lines of sight. The user can click through each view and see just where on the map the view falls. Credit for the piece goes to D.K., L.P., G.D.,…

  • The Tallest of the Tall (in Los Angeles)

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    Brendan Barry
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    I have always had an interest in architecture. And so this piece from the Los Angeles Times is just because I like to indulge myself every so often, a look at the five tallest buildings in Los Angeles. Credit for the piece goes to Scott J. Wilson, Matt Moody, and Anthony Pesce.

  • Bloomberg’s New York

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    Brendan Barry
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    For those of you who read this blog and are not from New York, Mayor Bloomberg is done later this year; he is not running for reelection. So now is the time for retrospective and plaudits for the long-serving mayor. The New York Times published a piece this weekend examining how all of Bloomberg’s changes…