Parcel 34 & 37 – New Bus Hub

Providence, RI

Project Description:

This design exercise investigated the potential redevelopment of two parcels within Providence’s Innovation and Design District in order to accommodate the relocation of the City’s bus hub from Kennedy Plaza. The two sites, located on former route 195 land, combine to make a super-block – allowing tremendous flexibility to integrate a variety of uses into a single location; the building’s proposed program includes the relocated bus hub, ground-floor retail, flexible workspace, social services, a restaurant and conference center, and market-rate apartments.

Surrounded by green space set aside for recreational activities, the ground level is ‘carved out’ to provide shelter for bus pick-up and drop-off – creating a podium above to enable the building’s many uses. Upper floors accommodate the majority of the residential program, such as affordable housing for nurses and teachers, while the larger consists of traditional apartments. The restaurant and conference center also sit within the larger tower, rising above the cityscape to capture views of Narragansett Bay to the south. The building façade is treated with louvered fins, which are positioned according to the direction of the sun and allow the development to glow at night.