Johnson and Wales Development

Providence, RI – The first new building in Johnson & Wales University’s master plan for its Harborside campus will set the tone and direction for future development. The building is expected to receive Silver LEED certification from the U.S. Green Building Council. Adjacent to a culinary arts museum and expected to be a popular tour destination for the university, the building offers maximum transparency to showcase and celebrate the school’s culinary program. Key instructional spaces include a diverse range of kitchen labs, a wine tasting room, and various types of instructional dining facilities. The exterior is scaled and massed to complement existing structures while presenting a clear identity that announces the building as a public space. Various material types and textures create a welcoming skin for this facility that is both learning institution and observation center. Labs, classrooms, and corridors are configured to offer students and faculty enough privacy to achieve an optimal learning experience even as visitors look on. The dean’s suite is designed as a glass box lined with wine bottles. It features an integrated conference/presentation room that hovers dramatically over the main lobby to illuminate the artistic aspect of the culinary experience. New academic offices on multiple floors integrate the faculty with student traffic and activity. The building is sited on 100 acres of a former shipyard in a designated flood zone. Anticipating regular rising water, all programmed areas are lifted above the 12-foot flood clearance line. A shallow earth terrace resolves into a graceful staircase that accentuates the building’s elevated entrance and leads users gently up and into it. For added safety in the event of a flood, the lower walls incorporate breakaway technology to allow for the free flow of water. In addition to addressing flood concerns, the raising of the building creates a covered open space at the street level that is conducive to year-round outdoor public events, including ice carving. The open space also unifies the other campus greens that now reach out to a main intersection, creating lawns and pedestrian footpaths where building corners are expected. The height of the building and the lifting of its entry floors also provide students, faculty, staff, and visitors with unrestricted and sweeping views of nearby Narragansett Bay.