195 Commission's Last Great Parcel, Is There Hope - Architecture Critic Will Morgan

195 Commission's Last Great Parcel, Is There Hope - Architecture Critic Will Morgan

 

Preliminary proposals for the development of Parcel 5, the last large piece of open 195 Commission land, have just been released. Given the Commission’s track record in attracting quality architectural design, there are some hopeful signs. First of all, nine development firms submitted proposals, and most of these seem to have the experience and wherewithal to complete such a major project. There are even some surprises, a few designs that rise above the usual developer schlock, and with careful tweaking, they could become notable.

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The Commission did not come up with a signature building type–say, a museum, an arena, an institute, a velodrome, or a theatre–something that would give a special focus to this side of the river. Instead, these schemes are mostly the usual commercial formula of apartments, parking, and retail. Commission Chairman Marc Crisafulli initially expressed an interest in considering an international competition for Parcel 5, but the current political landscape in Providence lacks the resources, vision, or courage to reach for something that might have put Providence on the world architectural map. Rather than second-guessing the language of the Commission’s request for proposals, it is worthwhile to review the crop of schemes for their potential design merit.

 

 

Amazingly, nearly half of the proposals show real promise. It would be churlish to analyze five of the supplicants for Parcel 5, as they are run-of-the-mill developers’ urban dross. It seems as though very little effort was expended in making these designs appear anything other than the dreary dreck of sameness that is blighting American cities from Charlotte to Denver.

 

That said, local architects ZDS have offered a wickedly audacious composition of streamlined layers of glass. ZDS’ entry tackles the site as a sweeping unit; it is taking a chance, daring to be bold. What is really astounding is that ZDS is the successful but unimaginative firm that has given the city so many architectural duds, including the blandness of Parcel 6. This design seems more appropriate to Rio de Janeiro of Miami than dowdy old Providence.

 

 

Höweler + Yoon’s proposal develops from a remarkable plan, which is both sensuous and practical, offering a poetic allusion to the Providence River. The 220-apartment complex has five exterior courtyards which are created by its free-form, organic plan. Knowing Höweler + Yoon’s work–the MIT Museum, the Memorial to Enslaved Laborers at the University of Virginia, and skyscrapers in Boston and China–we could expect that whatever they produce for Parcel 5 to be elegant, carefully crafted, and a proud-making work of architecture. These designers are exactly the kind of top-flight architects that Providence should aspire to attract.

 

 

Wade/Keating’s Providence Art & Design Center comes closest to giving the east side of the river an event space. It offers a multi-programmatic theme, with retail and arts spaces on the ground level and 200 apartments above. The building is divided by an interior pedestrian street, that forms a delightful market, a souk. The spikey silhouette is reminiscent of narrow houses along the canals in Amsterdam or a medieval Hanseatic city somewhere in the Baltic. Slightly quirky and fun, the art center could be developed into an attraction in its own right. Best of all, the inner passageway meanders from the pedestrian bridge to Wickenden Street.

 

 

The all-women firm of Merge brings their two decades of creating handsome and innovative housing, mostly in and around Boston, to Parcel 5. This proposal features fraternal twin buildings of different materials, but with equally vigorous forms. Merge’s plan depends more than any of the others on the ground the buildings inhabit. The women-led landscape firm of Crowley Cottrell makes a giant contribution to the overall design, as if the planned green space pays homage to the once-open ground that earlier was here. Because of the unified treatment of land and its structures, this vision of Parcel 5 is probably the most relatable, the most humane.

 

    

These early thoughts on Parcel 5 will be studied by the Commission and its advisers, and the proposals will be winnowed down to a handful in a month or so. But three of the proposals demonstrate great potential. Does this mean a turn-around for the 195 Commission from developers’ flack to architectural patron? For whatever reasons, and better late than never, these offerings suggest an uptick in design quality. The Commission can further redeem itself by selecting the best design for Parcel 5, and then carefully shepherding it to fruition as the jewel in the 195 crown.