Curving geometry pays homage to a college icon.
The west façade embraces the gothic form of Harkins Hall, Providence College’s first and most beloved 1919 campus building.
Front and center, a contemporary gothic arch frames the college’s logo, the Torch, and its color-changing flame.
The Ryan Center features a two-story classroom addition with a daylit, multipurpose atrium.
The atrium is an inviting gathering space that provides interior and exterior orientation. It serves as a vibrant, multifunctional student hub—the only such space on campus.
Key elements include a welcoming stair and two bridges connecting parallel spaces. The bridges connect faculty offices in a re-purposed former residential hall with two floors of learning spaces in a curved bar at the west.
The Ryan Center boasts the largest percentage of active learning classrooms of any business school in New England. The design supports discussion and collaboration in settings where professors can engage meaningfully with students.
Teaching spaces are equipped with the latest technology, such as Bloomberg terminal functionality in the Financial Information Resource Lab.
The design balances academic formality with unexpected elements.
This is seen in the masonry volumes and glass connections. The curved classroom wing and atrium skylights cast a dynamic light pattern throughout the building.
Atop the transparent elliptical data lab is an open laptop lounge, “The Mesa”.
The ground floor provides café and lounge seating overlooking the south campus green. This flexible area can be configured for 335 seats for special events.
Students move from a static arrival space to a dynamic landscape of learning.
A raised terrace extends from the atrium, offering an outdoor café that overlooks the campus “Arts Walk” while connecting the Business School community with a residential hall and theater quadrangles. The energy of the campus courtyard extends into the building, blending exterior terraces, interior amphitheaters, ramps, and meeting places.
The unified landscape connects the small-scale program spaces at the renovated Dore Hall with a new addition dedicated to larger formal learning areas.
The Ryan Center project is a feat of preservation.
It repurposes Dore Hall, one of nine buildings on the east campus that originated as part of Providence City Hospital in the early 1900s.
SMMA’s design re-uses existing materials while bringing Dore Hall up to modern standards. The team replaced windows, installing steel lintels when required. The exterior wall is now insulated with mineral wool. Further additions include new roof and exterior fire stairs, supplemental floor structure, new MEP systems, and a new elevator.
