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AS220 at the Dreyfus is the adaptive reuse of a former hotel in downtown Providence into a mixed use arts complex. Just completed in May, 2007 and fully leased, the Dreyfus began its life as a hotel in the late 1890’s, then endured 25 years as a dormitory for Johnson & Wales and has just now begun its third incarnation as a vibrant home for the arts. After remaining vacant for 5 years, the Dreyfus was purchased in 2005 by AS220, a not-for-profit arts organization. Construction cost was approximately $4,655,000, averaging $194/sf, which included everything but the furniture and equipment and included a substantial portion of the restaurant fit-out. The architectural scope of the rehabilitation included full architectural services, including the restoration of the first floor lounge, but not the interior design of the restaurant.

The program includes:

Floor One and Lower Level
A restaurant, with dining room, pub and function room, within the restored interior of the original hotel restaurant.
A new 600 sf visual art gallery for AS220

Floor Two
10 affordable artists’ work studios, including new offices for AS220 and a community silk screen/print/etching studio. Studios range in size from 200 - 500 sf and monthly rents range from $200 to $500.

Floors Three and Four
14 artists’ live studios, 11 of which are affordable. Live studios range in size from 350 – 500 sf and monthly rents for affordable studios are from $400 - $575.

Originally a small wood framed, late 19th century structure, the Dreyfus Hotel was expanded in 1917 with an addition and the two buildings were unified by a magnificent terra cotta, brick and stained glass exterior. Further renovations in the early part of the 20th century created an intricately styled restaurant with neoclassical elements, a heavily wood paneled barroom, modeled on men’s clubs of the day, as well as a basement speakeasy. The upper floors remained as a hotel until 1975 when the building was purchased by Johnson & Wales University. Renovations converted the building into
a dormitory which housed approximately 45 students and was used until 2000.

Years of deferred maintenance, as well as structural deficiencies inherent in the original design, resulted in a building with a deteriorating terra-cotta façade and a failing interior structure. The structural components of the entire front of the building had to be
completely re-designed and replaced. At the same time, the column locations throughout the first floor and basement had to be maintained to insure that the historic interiors at these locations could be preserved and reconstructed around the new structure. This was a major feat as the original building had been built in stages and the floor systems reversed direction at every floor, with beams and columns located with little or no apparent coordination between floors.

In addition, substantial water infiltration had not only caused deterioration of the terra-cotta,
but it had also corroded the underlying structural steel supports, requiring substantial reconstruction of the intricate cornice. This included reproduction of a number of the terra-cotta features that were beyond repair.

Finally, a complete restoration of the building’s severely compromised fenestration was undertaken. The original triple ganged double-hung wood windows with elegant wagon wheel, arched caps had been coarsely panned over with aluminum and the wood sash replaced with smaller aluminum replacement windows. At the first floor, what remained of the original stained and leaded glass windows had been mostly obscured and was generally
in very poor condition. Double hung, operable wood aluminum clad windows were reinstalled in the newly exposed original window frames at the upper floors, and the stained
and leaded glass windows on the first floor were completely restored and exposed to the street again. The magnificently restored terra-cotta façade and the newly completed fenestration are now the visual and architectural highlights of this downtown
Providence gem.

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• 52 Valley Street, also known as the Providence Dyeing, Bleaching, and Calendering Company, is part of the historic Calender Mills complex located in the Valley Neighborhood of Providence, RI. The historic mill building has been transformed into 25 one bedroom loft units with two commercial units at the first floor along Valley Street. The building is comprised of two connected structures (27,400 SF). The original portion of the building was the Filter House at the rear of the site which was built between 1904 and 1908. Later in 1916, an office and storage building was constructed directly in front of the Filter House extending all the way to Valley Street. The first two bays, of both stories, along Valley Street consisted of office space and the rest of the building was storage.
  
  52 Valley Street is part of a larger industrial mill complex. The project has a minimal site with many of the lot lines existing along the perimeter edges of the building. The architectural team worked with the Owner and the Owner’s landscape consultant to develop shared landscaped courtyards in between the complex’s buildings on the south and west side of the project. Parking for the project was dispersed throughout the project, with a good portion of the parking located off-site on a parcel adjacent to the complex.
  
  The exterior envelope of the building was fully restored consisting of the restoration of the exterior masonry, the replacement of the existing wood windows with new historic replicated aluminum windows, the restoration of the existing historic wood windows at the front 2 bays of the building along Valley Street and the replacement of the existing wood stile and rail doors with new historic replicated stile and rail wood doors.
  
  The challenge of this project was to create a variety of efficient, market rate and affordable, rental units in the 600 to 900 SF range while maintaining the historic character of the complex’s unique spaces. Each portion of the building exhibits different architectural features of mill construction which we tried to maintain and exploit in the projects spaces.
  
  The Office: The front two bays of the 1916 addition, which contained the original offices for the complex, have walls and ceilings constructed of decorative bead board with simply detailed trim work at the beams and window casings. The double hung wood windows and woodwork, in this section of the building, were restored. The second floor of the office wing was transformed into two dwelling units, while the first floor was built out as two commercial spaces taking advantage of their location, opening up onto Valley Street.
  
  The Storage Building: The storage building makes up the largest portion of the mill, containing floor plates of heavy timber post and beam construction with structural wood decking floors. The first floor with its smaller floor to floor height offered the opportunity to create smaller more intimate and efficient living units. The height of the second floor offered greater opportunities for variety in the unit living spaces. Sleeping lofts were able to be tucked into many of the second floor units, occupying spaces in between the mills beams and undulating roof structure.
  
  The Filter House: The Filter House at the west end of the site was a large two story space with an open loft that was used for storage. The living units in this area of the building are the largest units in the project. These dwelling units maintain the double height space and open loft feel of the original Filter House, exposing the heavy timber framing and structural wood decking as well as the large double height windows looking out onto the rear courtyard.
  
  
  
  
  

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When a fire forced this architectural firm from the cramped confines of the 1799 John Updike House on College Hill, they embraced the opportunity to expand and to start afresh. After a long search, the firm took the pioneering approach and moved to the Sun Mills in Providence’s West End.
The 3,500 square foot, free-standing building offered everything that the architects could have asked for - open studio space, windows, and high ceilings. In order to emphasize the collaborative nature of the working process, spaces are kept open. In there is less than 300 square feet of enclosed space for toilet rooms, storage, and private conferences.
The remaining space has been defined by the controlled placement of two folding wall planes that wind around the studio.architects designed their own furniture, including workstations, library shelving, reception desk, work tables, and conference tables. The attention to materials, space, colors, detailing, and quality of light ultimately communicates the firm’s design approach.

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The clients approached us with an outside-of-the-box concept: a store / restaurant / bar / gallery within a former warehouse space in Boston’s Fort Point Channel District. This unconventional problem demanded an innovative solution: instead of compartmentalizing the different programs in the deep but narrow space, the architects developed a design solution which allowed the different activities to overlap. Inspired by the strength of the concrete and steel industrial shell, we designed a system of 28 glass / steel merchandise cases which ride on a series of steel rails mounted to the ceiling. The cases could roll open during retail hours and agglomerate into clustered vaults at night; transforming the retail space into an extension of the bar and lounge area beyond.

The Chef needed flexibility in table sizes for his small / medium / large / extra-large menu. The architects recognized the challenge of grouping small tables into larger ones with the unevenness of the existing floor and conceived of grouping the two-tops along rail supports--creating flush and level tables that are sized to fit seating from 2 -18 people. The overall result is an experience of simplicity in flexibility.

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We conducted a programming study in order to define the needs for expansion. The schematic design proposes a new education wing, restructured chapel end wall, and reorganized entry. The design respects the origin of the existing church and a need for “spirare” or expansion, breath and spirit. We proposed that the existing vinyl siding be replaced with wooden board and batten details that alternately expand and contract creating a new exterior and openings for modulated light.

The construction of a new freestanding chapel is the first stage of expansion for the Shepherd of the Valley church. We developed a tectonic based on the concept of “spirare” (spirit), “inspirare” (breath) and “spiral”, expansion and contraction. The geometry of the ceiling/roof and floor spirals north setting the structure, windows, and ceiling/wall acoustic fins.

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Almost twenty years after completing the Architecture Building, Roger Williams University asked the original
architect to extend that building’s architectural concepts while simultaneously establishing a new identity appropriate for the growing school.
The openness of the original building had fostered a strong culture of interdisciplinary collaboration that is perpetuated in the new building with open graduate studios, review spaces linked to major pathways, and dramatic public interiors.
While the original building was inwardly focused and presented a solid block wall to a former parking lot, plans to
convert the asphalt into a campus green offered an opportunity to enhance the schools connections to the campus. The generous use of glass in the new construction’s studios and gallery and the orientation of those spaces open up the building to the newly created campus green. An innovative exterior projection screen built into the building’s skin
continues the concept of communicating the learning that occurs in this building to the rest of the University.
Built on a strict 20’ steel module , the spaces contained in the addition are intended to be open flexible spaces that can easily be reconfigured as the School’s needs change. The design also anticipates the expansion of the library at the southern edge of the main courtyard, whose volume will complete the compositional strategy of the first phases. The massing of this addition allows ample southern sun to penetrate the courtyard and continues the vocabulary of materials used here.
A high performance rainscreen cladding system gives the new portions a distinct new image while improving energy efficiency and durability.
Free-standing masonry piers with louvers that shade the studios are a nod to the original building’s materials.
The exposed structure, use of daylight, and innovative use of environmentally friendly materials create a vibrant laboratory for learning about architecture.

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