Sciences Library (Brown University)
| Sciences Library | |
|---|---|
 |
|
| General information | |
| Type | Library |
| Architectural style | Brutalist |
| Location | 201 Thayer Street, Providence, Rhode Island, United States |
| Coordinates | 41°49′37″N 71°24′00″W / 41.8269°N 71.4000°WCoordinates: 41°49′37″N 71°24′00″W / 41.8269°N 71.4000°W |
| Completed | 1971 |
| Height | |
| Roof | 180 feet (55 m) |
| Technical details | |
| Floor count | 15 |
| Lifts/elevators | 4 |
| Design and construction | |
| Architect | Warner, Burns, Toan and Lunde |
| Developer | Brown University |
| Main contractor | Dimeo Construction Company |
| References | |
The Sciences Library, nicknamed the "SciLi", at Brown University is a high-rise building in Providence, Rhode Island built in 1971. At 180 feet (55 m), it is tied with One Citizens Plaza as the 13th-tallest building in the city. The building houses Brown University's primary on-campus collections that support study and research in the fields of Medicine, Psychology, Neural Science, Environmental Science, Biology, Chemistry, Geology, Physics, Engineering, Computer Science, and Pure and Applied Mathematics. SciLi is also the home of the Science Center, the Writing Center, the Map Collection, the Interlibrary Loan office, and the Friedman Study Center. SciLi is one of five on-campus libraries which make up the University Library.
Completed in the Brutalist architectural style, the building is Brown University's primary science library. The school had been faced with the desire for vigorous expansion but had little real estate available, and the high-rise library was the school's solution.
Clashing with late 19th century and early 20th century colonial revival houses and abutting street-level shopping on Thayer Street, the Science Library is often seen as an imposing and obtrusive addition to College Hill. Architectural historian McKenzie Woodward condemns the building as "overwhelm[ing] everything around it", even comparing it to a Soviet-era Panelák when viewed from its "all-too-many distant viewing perspectives".
A 100-foot radio tower, erected in 1972, was removed from the building in 2005.
In 2006, the first and second floors and the basement of the Sciences Library underwent extensive renovations and were transformed into the Susan P. and Richard A. Friedman Study Center. The center includes a variety of seating, a cafe on the first floor, new computer clusters, and collaborative study rooms. This renovation was designed by Architecture Research Office, and structurally engineered by Leslie E. Robertson Associates.
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