On the southeastern edge of Brown University’s campus, the Brook Street Residence Halls provide an inviting residential community that will re‑shape Brown’s connection to its surrounding neighborhood. Born out of an institutional goal to expand on-campus housing options for undergraduates, the 125,500 SF residence hall adds 353 beds and an improved public pedestrian experience along an important north-south corridor in Providence’s East Side. Hugging both sides of Brook Street, the pair of buildings will strengthen connections between existing campus residences and the Fox Point neighborhood alike. Well-composed volumes and sloped roof lines temper the scale of the building, taking their cues from the pitched roofs found across Providence. A distilled palette of brick, terracotta and wood complements and draws from the immediate context. 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 both 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. An integrated design-build project delivery approach ensures that material, labor, and maintenance costs are equally streamlined and considered part of a holistic sustainability strategy.
