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Architecture & design studio  
in New York led by Sasha Topolnytska.

Brown University Residence Hall 

Completed 2023
Providence, RI, USA

Architect: TenBerke Architects
Image Credits: TenBerke Architects

Recognition:
Design Awards of Honor, SARA National Design Awards, 2024
Design Awards of Excellence, SARA NY Design Awards, 2024
Excellence in Sustainability Award, ENR New England Sustainability Awards, 2024
Architectural Record November 2023, Architecture & Interior Design Brown University’s campus Brook Street Residence Hall provides an inviting residential community, reshaping Brown’s connection to the surrounding neighborhood. While the 125 500 SF residence hall added 353 beds, it has also improved the public pedestrian experience along a north-south corridor in Providence’s East Side.

The well-composed volumes with sloped roof lines complement the surrounding neighborhood. They were inspired by the distinctive aesthetic of the pitched roof landscape that characterizes many Providence locations. A distilled palette of brick, terracotta, and wood complements and draws from the immediate context.

Interwoven with new, publicly accessible green spaces, the residence halls offer living spaces alongside places to socialize, study, and gather inside and out. Within the dorms, light-filled corridors are punctuated with kitchen spaces and small nooks—warm, inviting spaces encouraging spontaneous conversations and gatherings. Social spaces are located at corners and towards Brook Street for views while animating the building facades at street level, reinforcing connections between the interior and exterior.

Behind the scenes, the project’s all-electric, high-performance design employs a hybrid steel and cross-laminated timber structure to minimize the environmental impact of the residence hall and the construction process. It contributes to the university’s de-carbonization pledge of cutting campus greenhouse gas emissions to net-zero by 2040.