A Crystal Secret in the Heart of Providence

In the center of down town Providence stands grandly the Union Trust Building, and in the very heart of the Union Bank Trust Building lives quietly a crystalized secret that few in the city know, a luxurious steel and glass stair from the time of the building’s original construction, 1901. Its balustrades are elaborately decorated with floral motifs and the glass treads glows in emerald tones as the sun passes over the skylight at the very top, over the 12th floor.  Few ever see the stair now as safety codes have made this beauty to serve as a means of egress during an emergency, and the heavy doors into the emerald stairwell remain shut. At one time it was the only way to ascend to higher floors of the grand building, forcing everyone to test the delicate looking glass treads. 

Existing Conditions; The Textures

Exploring old buildings can be a remarkably emotional experience -It's archeological and philosophical- you quite literally uncover layers, discover old flooring, old walls, old windows. You see where things were covered up and hidden, where they were patched -and how, where they were forgotten, where  time and the elements warped the unattended surfaces and structures we create. 

Old floors at Cromwell Mills, Providence

Old floors at Cromwell Mills, Providence

Gate, Cromwell Mills, Providence

Gate, Cromwell Mills, Providence

Floors at the Union Bank Trust building, Providence

Floors at the Union Bank Trust building, Providence

Terrazzo flooring at the Union Trust Building, Providence

Terrazzo flooring at the Union Trust Building, Providence

Wall at 10 River Road, AAA, East Providence

Wall at 10 River Road, AAA, East Providence

Demo Wall Art at the Union Trust Building, Providence 

Demo Wall Art at the Union Trust Building, Providence 





The Grid

Looking from the window of one of the upper floors of the Union Bank Trust Building one finds their eyes always situated within a gridded world, like a fly in a web. Accept, unlike a fly, we navigate the grids we live in, we make them larger and smaller; we merge them and subdivide them. Like a bee within a hexagon we are a species that builds and occupies the grid with our bodies, our cars, with materials, sunlight, and air. 

Floor.jpg

AAA

A site visit

To the side of the Wampanoag Trail Road in East Providence, Rhode Island, stands an old warehouse, surrounded only by a vast weedy parking lot and some woods, awaiting its renewal as a AAA headquarters. Despite having served a utilitarian life It's quite an expressive building, with large garage doors, a long awning, an a loud geometry at the entry. 

 

We Received anRhode Island Monthly Award!

Congratulations in being selected winner in the Rhode Island Monthly Awards!

"The ingenious architect added a two-story addition in the alley where a dumpster once roosted, opened up the ground floor and created a mezzanine space...Bravo for the innovative reuse of an old structure and a contemporary design that won't age. Years from now, Garde de la Mer will still look sensational." 

"My Lucky Dog" Life's Dream

Our client, Mellissa Punchak, has recently left her job to pursue a dream she has had since she was a teenager, to own and operate a dog daycare. We are quite excited to be the team chosen to help her with this pursuit. She rented a a warehouse space in Smithfield, which we are converting to host dogs of varying sizes and ages, cats, and smaller pets.