Building owner and tenant: WaterFire Providence
Architect: DBVW Architects
General contractor: TRAC Builders
Civil engineer: Fuss & O’Neill
Structural engineer: Odeh
Historic consultant: Providence Revolving Fund
Project manager: The Aspen Group
Total project cost: $13.7 million
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Before: The building’s original windows, maintained during the redesign, filled the space with light during a time in history when electricity was extremely expensive. / COURTESY DBVW Architects[/caption]
The new WaterFire Arts Center opened its doors to the public this past summer, marking completion of a $13.7 million renovation to a former factory building. Originally built in 1930, the building was used for storage by U.S. Rubber Corp. before the company ceased operations in 1975. It is now headquarters for WaterFire Providence, which purchased the building in 2012 for $425,000 and began work in October 2015 with environmental remediation of the site. The 38,000-square-foot facility in the Olneyville neighborhood of Providence is WaterFire’s first permanent home, consolidating its operations from five locations into one multiuse center for the arts. The space can accommodate more than 1,000 people and substantial art exhibits – the Rosa Parks house will be brought into the space for a temporary installment – and is intended to serve the arts community as a whole by hosting events, performances and exhibitions. In its redesign, which earned a 2017 Rhody Award for Historic Preservation, DBVW Architects incorporated the building’s original exposed brick, piping and two-story, black-paneled windows, which once minimized the need for electric light at a time when it was much more expensive. Its scrolling doors were large enough to allow full-sized locomotives to enter the space to unload rubber and to collect products for delivery. Trains entered the space via a massive gantry crane, which freely rolls the length of the building and remains the visual centerpiece of the room. New details include colorful guardrails, a sculptural elevator tower, a visitor center, an education center for art and boatbuilding programs for local youth, and a large rooftop deck for events. The project used federal and state historic tax credits and federal new-markets tax credits ($5 million), state historic-preservation tax credits ($2.25 million), 2014 voter-approved creative and cultural economy bond funds ($3,162,600), Environmental Protection Agency brownfields-cleanup grants ($600,000) and private donations and funds.
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A stretch of balcony overlooking the main space connects the administrative offices to the main entrance and offers access to a new rooftop deck. / COURTESY DBVW Architects/Heidi Gumula[/caption]
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Before: 475 Valley St. prior to renovation. It served as a storage warehouse for U.S. Rubber Corp. until 1975. / COURTESY DBVW Architects[/caption]
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A large bay door, which once allowed full-size locomotives to enter the building to unload cargo, is now used by caterers and other couriers to set up for events. / COURTESY DBVW Architects/Heidi Gumula[/caption]
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WaterFire’s newly consolidated administrative offices are on the second floor. Prior to the WaterFire Arts Center, the nonprofit’s operations were spread out across five locations. / COURTESY DBVW Architects/Heidi Gumula[/caption]
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A new sculptural elevator tower provides access to the second floor. Piet Mondrian’s “Composition No. II, with Red and Blue” inspired the palette for the interior’s contemporary fixtures, furniture and accent walls. / COURTESY DBVW Architects/Heidi Gumula[/caption]