Brown Unveils Design of New Performing Arts Center

Brown Unveils Design of New Performing Arts Center

Brown University has unveiled the design of its new Performing Arts Center (PAC) that is targeted for completion in spring of 2022.

The Performing Arts Center is being designed by the New York-based architecture firm REX.

“The Performing Arts Center’s innovative, flexible design will establish the building itself as a deeply integral part of the artistic process. It promises to inspire groundbreaking creation, collaboration and experimentation in ways we can’t even yet imagine,” said Brown President Christina Paxson.

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Brown unveiled initial plans for the PAC in 2017 after launching the Brown Arts Initiative.

The release of the renderings comes after a two-year planning, design and community engagement process and a recent vote by the Corporation of Brown University to authorize site work at the PAC’s approved location on Angell Street in Providence. 

To make room for the Performing Arts Center, Brown had to move the historic Sharpe House from Angell Street to Brown Street.

It is now situated adjacent to the Peter Green House.

See the Photos of the Move Below

The Renderings

The renderings show plans for a main performance hall that can transform into any of five different stage/audience configurations — ranging from a 625-seat symphony orchestra hall, to a 250-seat proscenium theater, to a surround-sound cube for experimental media performance.

“It is not a ‘one-size-fits-all’ auditorium, mediocre to all and excellent for none. It is literally five very specific, high-performance configurations in one. No other single-space venue can be a 250-seat chamber for spoken word and a 625-seat hall for a 100-piece orchestra, both with exceptional acoustics and intimacy,” said Joshua Ramus, founder, and principal of REX.

The renderings also show a suite of modern studios, rehearsal spaces and intimate performance venues that will serve as everyday academic resources for students, as well as, faculty.

As pictured in the renderings, there will also be a transparent slice that intersects the Center and will allow performances, rehearsals and arts scholarship to extend into the Brown campus and local neighborhood, inviting the community to watch and be part of the art.