Rhode Island School of Design

Founded in 1877, the Rhode Island School of Design (RISD) at Providence, Rhode Island, is one of the most prestigious university institutes of fine arts and design in the USA. Along with Brown University, the campus’s late 19^th- and early 20^th-Century historical buildings occupy a significant part of town. The austerity and rigor of the university’s architecture conceal an effervescent and lively social and academic life, one that is constantly renewed by an influx of new students.

As in Europe, mirroring a different approach to upper-level education, in the US the public image of universities has been changing in recent years. The authoritativeness and severity of the oldest university campuses reflected the status of the few privileged to enter; today, ground-breaking and appealing architecture is part of a competitive strategy to attract a greater number of students, given that they have countless alternatives to choose from.

New York architecture practice WORKac won the commission to redesign the ground floor of one of RISD’s flagship buildings. The goal of this refurbishment was to renew the arts institution’s public image, giving primary importance to activities that involve interaction with the town and the public and, more than other elements, will be attractive to students and their families, helping them to make their academic choice.

Starting from the ground floor of a historical U-shaped brick building, the architects at WORKac experimented with different materials, colors, shadows and layout to create a colorful, dynamic refurbishment. The design caters to a need to reposition and rethink the layout of two mainly public-facing offices: one for student enrollment and financial services, the other a careers center advising students on academic and work prospects.

These offices are located in the two wings of the existing building, leveraging its modular structure to...

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