The second half of the 20th century saw a precipitous decline in Providence’s economy and population, and downtown reflected this loss of fortune, with its elegantly designed buildings now housing temporary, precarious businesses, or abandoned entirely and boarded up. But by the end of the century, Providence’s long history of design and innovation reasserted itself, and creative strategies for the preservation of its architectural heritage and development of its arts and cultural community ... view more »
The second half of the 20th century saw a precipitous decline in Providence’s economy and population, and downtown reflected this loss of fortune, with its elegantly designed buildings now housing temporary, precarious businesses, or abandoned entirely and boarded up. But by the end of the century, Providence’s long history of design and innovation reasserted itself, and creative strategies for the preservation of its architectural heritage and development of its arts and cultural community have led to a civic transformation of downtown, including the area around Empire and Washington Streets, now a hub of innovation and energy.
PPL’s current renovation project, THINK AGAIN, radically reimagines the 21st-century library as a place of open, user-friendly, and collaborative teaching and learning spaces where community members of all ages, neighborhoods, needs, and interests can connect, experience, create, and achieve. Join artists, scholars, and community practitioners, including designLAB architects partner Mary Ann Upton, AIA; PPL Executive Director Jack Martin; and PPL Chief Operating Officer Aaron Peterman, for a conversation about this inventive vision for PPL, and how our architectural reimagining is at its center.
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