In a state that prides itself on world-class creative talent, it strikes some on the local scene as odd when high-profile design work goes to out-of-town architects, especially for academic institutions that are responsible for producing some of that talent. Still it is not unusual for some local firms to partner with out-of-state firms.
For example, Brown University announced in May that Rex Architecture, a 30-person, Brooklyn, N.Y. firm, was going to design the school’s new performing arts center, which is expected to be completed by the fall of 2020. When contacted about who was considered for the job, a Brown spokesman said 15 firms were considered, but he would not reveal if any local architects were in the mix.
While two-thirds of the firms designing the $220 million South Street Landing Project are out of state – Spagnolo Gisness & Associates, with offices in Boston and New York, is the master plan architect, and Tsoi Kobus Design is from Cambridge, Mass. – they are joined by Providence’s DBVW Architects.
In addition, the Brown spokesman added that since 2000 the university has worked with Kite Architects and Ed Wojcik out of Providence.
Half of the architectural team designing Johnson & Wales University’s School of Engineering and Design, Architectural Resources Cambridge, travelled south from Cambridge, Mass., but it is complimented by Edward Rowse Architects Inc. of East Providence.
Providence College’s $30 million Arthur & Patricia Ryan Center for Business Studies was designed by Cambridge, Mass.-based SMMA, which also has a significant Providence office.
Bryant University utilized out-of-state design talent for its Academic Innovation Center (EYP Architecture and Engineering out of Boston), Bulldog Strength and Conditioning Center (Sasaki in Watertown, Mass.), but not for its Physician Assistant Learning Center or six renovations to the Unistructure, which was designed by LLB Architects out of Pawtucket.
Roger Williams University, home to the School of Architecture, Art and Historic Preservation, has made using local architects a priority. The school chose Providence-based Vision 3 Architects for its Providence campus (a re-do of the former 38 Studios LLC headquarters) as well as a 2017 Bristol campus renovation.
RWU prefers “to keep it local” when sourcing design, said Robert Lake, RWU director of capital projects and planning, in a statement. He added: “If there is a major building project, we would solicit proposals from outside Rhode Island, but there is a preference to stay local.”
The point, said Lisa Carnevale, executive director of DesignxRI, a statewide economic-development nonprofit representing designers across multiple spectrums, is to pursue strong design talent. But she believes Rhode Island firms – which she called “a local resource” comparable in design capability to firms located in the nation’s big cities – are not always considered for in-state projects.
“Be mindful of the talent that’s in Rhode Island,” she said.
Jennifer Space, president of the R.I. branch of American Institute of Architects and an associate at Providence’s n|e|m|d architects inc., knows Rhode Island architects are “more than capable” of competing.
“There’s no reason for [Brown] to go out of state,” she said, adding “while we understand the allure of going to a big-name/big-city firm, we welcome the opportunity to prove our competitive edge and design expertise in all areas and with all types of clients.”
In her experience, “higher-profile clients think they need to go to higher-profile architects for the name. But Rhode Island has some really great designers.”
The rest of the country recognizes this as well. Space admitted n|e|m|d works in Boston, too. She feels local firms have become more competitive on a larger stage thanks to consistent comparisons with big-name firms from out of state. But she still feels underappreciated.
“It would be nice to be thought of as comparable,” she said.
While no one would advocate choosing a less-talented firm in an “architecturally historic state,” Carnevale said Space is not alone in feeling “overlooked.”
Carnevale urges prospective builders to “re-examine the talent in Rhode Island.” Immediately looking to the bigger cities outside of the state is “a habit that needs to be broken.”
In a similar vein, Rhode Island firms compete outside the state, too. Last year DesignxRI received a $100,000 Industry Cluster Grant from R.I. Commerce Corp. to market local design talent beyond the Ocean State.
Reviewing New York City-based Rex, Carnevale said Brown’s performing arts center was similar to previous projects completed by the firm, and if Brown chose them based on the firm’s portfolio, it was “the right thing [to do].”
And sometimes the lure of an internationally recognized architect is backed up by the product. Rhode Island School of Design, which has both undergraduate and graduate programs in architecture, chose the Spanish, Pritzker Prize-winning architect Jose Rafael Moneo to design its Chace Center. The expansion of its art museum brought broad accolades for both form and function when it opened in 2008.