Providence Architecture is a new boutique architectural firm co-founded by principal architect Kevin Diamond, with a focus on offering a highly collaborative development approach between the owner, architect and construction team. Diamond formed the company with local real estate investor and manager Dustin Dezube, who’s been acquiring properties since 2010, growing his portfolio to 280 residential units in the city.
Most recently, the two received preliminary plan approval from the Providence City Plan Commission to construct a new four-story, 16-unit residential building at 113 Ives St. in the Fox Point neighborhood, where there’s currently a two-family home that’s slated for demolition. They’re also planning to renovate the former Karma nightclub property into residential units, with retail storefronts on the ground floor.
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PBN: Can you describe the design for the 113 Ives St. property that recently received preliminary plan approval, and talk about the thought that went into that and how it fits into the Fox Point neighborhood?
DIAMOND: The Fox Point neighborhood has a rich dialogue of old and new buildings that accommodate both commercial and residential uses. This context is something we worked hard to identify and understand when coming up with the plan for 113 Ives. Our goal with the design concept for the building was to create a residential apartment building that is visually congruent with the boutique commercial storefronts that line the 100 block of Ives St.
To achieve this, the ground level of the building was designed to feel different from the upper levels and is distinguished by a prominent cornice, making it read less like a house or an apartment building, and more like the adjacent mixed-use structures and adjacent storefronts. The styling of the building is intended to be simple, clean and timeless in a way that compliments the historic structures that surround it.
PBN: At four stories tall, you’ve described the 113 Ives St. property as a midsized building, which is bigger than a triple-decker but not quite an apartment tower. How common is this design here, especially compared with the rest of the country?
DIAMOND: The scale of this development is particularly exciting because it has a greater economic impact on the neighborhood than the construction of a duplex or a triple-decker but is much closer to the scale of the surrounding buildings than a large apartment tower would be. This flavor of development is beginning to appear more in Providence, although it is far more ubiquitous on the West Coast and in European cities.
PBN: How did you become the co-owner of Providence Architecture? When was the firm established, what has it done so far and what are your hopes for the business?
DIAMOND: I co-founded Providence Architecture with my partner, Dustin Dezube, earlier this year. While we are a new architecture firm, we’ve grown rather quickly. We’ve just welcomed our third full-time staff member and are very proud of the energetic and creative team we have built so far. We are both excited to continue to grow an architecture firm that can make a lasting positive impact on Providence and beyond.
Prior to the launch of Providence Architecture, I was an in-house architect and project manager with a boutique real estate development group in Raleigh, North Carolina. My team designed and managed several large-scale urban infill redevelopment projects. I see Providence Architecture as a natural continuation of this work, focusing on meaningful urban revitalization.
PBN: Your co-owner is the head of Providence Living, a growing real estate firm in the city. How does your mission as an architect interact with the work of the real estate side of the housing business?
DIAMOND: Traditionally, real estate developers and architects work together and overlap on projects but are rarely linked together throughout every step of the process, which is often not in the best interest of a project’s final outcome.
Dustin and I launched Providence Architecture with the goal of creating a far more streamlined and collaborative design and development process. Architecture and development inform each other, and we’ve found that there’s tremendous potential when they happen simultaneously. Through our partnership, we leverage our contrasting and complementary skill sets to solve complex problems.
PBN: Can you tell us about any projects on the horizon for you in Rhode Island, or at least what kind of project you aspire to do next?
DIAMOND: We currently have two mixed-use historic preservation projects in downtown Providence that are moving into construction. In addition, we have a handful of other exciting new construction buildings throughout Providence that are at various stages of design and development. Our team is also working on a few smaller residential projects in Jamestown and South Kingstown. As a team, we aspire to continue to work on projects that focus on meaningful placemaking.
Marc Larocque is a PBN staff writer. Contact him at Larocque@PBN.com. You may also follow him on Twitter @LaRockPBN.
