cities are alive and always changing.  As they change, often parts of the urban fabric are lost or cut off from their surroundings.  Providence is a city where this fragmentation has become all too common. In order to re-integrate disconnected parts of Downtown Providence, this thesis explores ways of implementing connections between abandoned buildings within city components.

For those buildings that have strong characteristic from the past, preserving their architectural language respects the collective memories of residents. Despite alterations to the interior, utilizing interior, analyzing the spatial quality of the exterior shell allows opportunity to keep the collective memories and values of the city while providing new use with taking advantages of restraints. Arnold building in Downtown Providence has a footprint that is narrow and has a vitrine-like existing façade. This will be preserved and be harnessed to project the interior space throughout the neighborhood. 

Just as redevelopment of the building will challenge its ability to be altered, young designers have to adapt to the professional community when they graduate. The program of the building will be mutually beneficial to students from the Rhode Island School of Design and the local community, by hosting a design and business incubator. The start-up workplace will serve an extension from school to professional life in its informal and collaborative environment. The strategy is to create a community where young designers establish meaningful encounters between each other so that space will be optimized for innovative works and gain recognition locally and beyond. Furthermore, the lively shared workplace building will be a transitional place in the city, where different components of the city meet and fragments to be reintegrated.