RISD North Hall / NADAAA

One of the most characteristic spaces of Providence is the RISD Beach with Pietro Belluschi’s perforated brick façade giving an abstract perforated front to the one public space that ties the Quad to the downtown sphere. It is this brick that has become the tectonic glue to the site, having the ability to ground the extension up the hill towards Prospect Street and the New Dormitory. The brick serves as retaining walls, pilasters, and the grounding façades of both the north and south faces of North Hall. The mission of the masterplan dictated the maximum amount of beds, which in turn created massing that was overscaled for the site.