RISD looks to expand Canal St. building

PROVIDENCE – The Rhode Island School of Design wants to expand its Arnold Hoffman Building.
The college presented plans Monday to the Downcity Design Review Committee that would add a five-story, 1,340-square-foot addition to the rear of building at 55 Canal St. The academic building houses the school’s Illustration Studies program. The addition would project out 20 feet and encroach upon an existing parking lot.
The addition would contain a staircase and elevator along with bathrooms on the second, third and fourth floors, said the city’s principal planner Christopher Ise. The building does not presently have an elevator.
RISD spokeswoman Jaime Marland said the addition was part of a five-year plan for renovations to the building commonly referred to as the Illustration Studies Building. The addition is part of the first phase intended to create more classroom and studio space. The college wants the addition completed by September 2011, Marland said.
RISD presented the concept as part of a pre-application process that allows potential applicants to gather feedback from the committee before filing a formal application. Ise said the committee was generally receptive to the size of the addition but expressed some concerns about the appearance of the wall that would front North Main Street.
As of Dec. 15, the school had not yet requested that the committee formally take up the application, Ise said.