Franklin Library
Pawtucket, RI – LLB Architects, a New England architecture firm with offices in Pawtucket, R.I. and Worcester, Mass., received five awards at AIA Rhode Island’s 2019 Design Awards.
The five projects all demonstrate a custom approach to designing spaces to best fit the needs of the users and the surrounding community.
Franklin Public Library won a Merit Award for its sensitive renovation and addition. LLB Architects received the award for designing a 6,000sf addition and restoring and renovating the existing 22,000sf structure. The design provided an opportunity to create a dramatic and significantly modern addition, which LLB tucked behind the historic building in order not to distract from the original architecture.
Two projects at Rhode Island College, Craig-Lee Hall and Gaige Hall, both received Citation Awards for significant renovations. A key goal was to modernize and integrate Craig-Lee Hall into the campus and transform the relationship between it and Gaige Hall, since both are prominent buildings that face the main quad.
A new addition facing the end of the quad repositions the building on campus. On the ground level, a large student lounge engages with the newly landscaped edge of the quad and invites students into the building.
Gaige Hall
LLB Architects undertook a total reorganization of departments and classrooms at Gaige Hall, creating integrated collaborative zones throughout the building. A small addition made a large impact by replacing the two-story center section with a three-story connector that features a double height multi-purpose room as well as study lounges that benefit from a fully glazed facade.
MB SquashBusters Entrance
A new Squash & Education Center building on Moses Brown School’s campus received a Citation Award. The main challenge was to site and design a wide footprint building on a tight site that needed to be respectful of its surroundings. LLB created an open viewing area between the 12 squash courts which serves as the heart of this building. It was oriented so that it visually and symbolically connects the two communities that it serves: the school and the larger community.
Weston Art & Innovation Center
A creative renovation to a historic library which created the Weston Art & Innovation Center received a Citation Award. The building combines restored historic areas with modern interventions such as the elevator, successfully joining the old and new.
