OBJECTIVE

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Working with local chain business owners from Baja’s & Chinatown on Thayer Street in Providence, RI, BISBANO was tasked with designing a ground-up building in a lot previously occupied by residential style buildings.

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This project took us through two design phases with the City of Providence, with the first culminating with an approval of ground-floor hospitality and three floors of residential units primarily geared toward student housing. The design for the first round leaned heavily toward illumination as a design feature bringing new life to Thayer Street, in line with the new projects that have been sprouting throughout the area.

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With the requested addition of the fifth floor by the building owners, BISBANO brought the project again through the City, where the zoning board required a redesign of the building exterior based on updated ordinances. This new design provided us the opportunity to create added program and identify true pedestrian level access with the addition of fully operable partitions and an array of new materials that, though modern, resonate with the historic fabric of the area utilizing brick masonry and wood rainscreen cladding.